


The Two Tricksters

by Doctorwhogirl13



Category: Sherlock (TV), The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Gen, Shakespeare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2013-05-02
Packaged: 2017-11-22 19:58:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 51,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctorwhogirl13/pseuds/Doctorwhogirl13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen if Irene Adler met Loki? Well read on and find out. </p><p>Set in an Alternate Universe that is post-Avengers and post Reichenbach.</p><p>Written during Nanowrimo 2012. But edited at an extremely slow pace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Woman

I arrived at my home, hearing the satisfying echo of the door closing behind me. Today I would treat myself to a bubble bath, I thought with a smile. It had been a long day at work, and an even longer few weeks. My stomach growled its dissatisfaction about having been neglected. "I suppose I should eat something first. Then the bath" I said aloud. I frequently talked aloud to myself. It made the house feel somewhat less lonely. Not that I was lonely. I didn't need anyone around 24/7 to prove anything. Not that I had been without my share of relationships. Some had started as a client relationship and turned into a dating one. This had happened with both males and females. I don’t care what gender you are. As long as I was somewhat attracted to you, it was good enough for me. With that thought, I turned my attention on my nights chosen upon activities. 

Later that evening I found myself soaking in my huge bathtub with a glass of Merlot. And no, I am not exaggerating when I say huge. A client of mine had offered to remodel my bathroom a few years back and one of the improvements was installing a tub which could easily fit 4 people. He even went on to remodel my whole bathroom to where it resembled a mini spa. I thought it was a bit extravagant at first, but have grown to love it. I have had many clients that 'donate' time or resources to me. I have yet to refuse. Why would I? Everyone loves free things, right? I took another sip of wine and laid my head against the edge feeling the cool ceramic clash with the warm bathwater on my body. 

I must have been more tired than I realized, for I was startled awake by the feeling I was being watched. I have had that feeling before, for in my line of work, one can never be too sure who is following you with less than pure intentions. However, I had never had that feeling in my own home. Looking around to find the culprit I found nothing except my own reflection in the mirror. "I’m hallucinating. That’s a good sign to give up and tuck in. " I said as I pulled the plug to the bath and climbed out.

I dried myself off, and didn’t even bother getting dressed before climbing into bed. The cloud-like mattress enveloped me as I wrapped the navy blue comforter around me and began to fall asleep. Just before drifting into full unconsciousness, I thought I heard the sound of someone moving around in my room, but I was too far gone to care. 

I woke up during the night to a crash coming from the kitchen. I would have thought it was my cat messing around, except I don’t have a cat. I cautiously got out of bed, wrapped my nearby bathrobe around myself, and made sure to grab my Ruger LCR-22 just to make myself feel safer. I cautiously make my way to the kitchen, and see there is no one there. However, I notice the culprit of the commotion. A bowl of fruit I had placed on the countertop was now overturned onto the floor, fruit spilling everywhere. “How in the heck...” I began to pick up the fruit and place it back in the bowl, when I saw a shadow move out of the corner of my eye. I quickly turned around to see what it was, and discovered nothing was there...again. 

Placing the fruit bowl back on the counter, I took another look around, peering into the shadows to see if I saw anything move. I saw nothing. Realizing I was thirsty, I got myself a glass of water before shuffling back into my bedroom and crawling back into bed. Just before falling asleep, I made sure my gun was placed under my pillow for easy access in case of more disturbances. 

~Stranger POV~

I am such an idiot. Becoming preoccupied by my own thoughts to the point that I knocked over the bowl on the counter. She almost saw me too. That lowly woman almost saw me slipping into the shadows to once again conceal myself from her line of sight. I ought to simply leave now and forget about her. But there was something about her that intrigued my very soul. Perhaps it was her greater than average intelligence, the graceful way she carried herself, the sense of loneliness around her, or maybe it was just her chosen profession. Whatever it was, it required me to continue watching her from the shadows, and continue to discover more about this fascinating creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://www.ruger.com/products/lcr/models.html


	2. A Day in the Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these first few chapters are so short. They get progressively longer as the story goes so just hang in there. 
> 
> I would love to hear feedback from people about what they think so far. Don't be shy!

Irene’s POV

I awoke the next morning with the worst backache I have had in a long time. Becoming fully conscious, I realized I was slumped up against my bedroom door. “Great, I am going to have a wonderful day waking up like this” I was still in my bathrobe I had donned during the night. As I arose from the floor, the events from the night came flooding back. Not only did I realize I had a bit of a headache, but also recalled having returned to my bed after the commotion. “Why am I on the floor than?” It was times like these where I missed the careful eye of my friend Sherlock. “Why do I need him though.” I chided myself. “I can figure it out on my own.”

I began my sleuthing by looking at my bed. I could tell by the indent in the pillow that I definitely had slept here during the night, but then again that could have been created pre-incident. My gun was still underneath the pillow thankfully. The sheets were splayed back as they usually are, but taking a closer look, they were done in such a fashion where I could not have done it. I am right handed and out of habit always move the blankets to the right side of the bed. The current position was to the left.

“I must have just moved them with my left hand this time that’s all. And then for some reason decided to sleep by the door.”

I couldn’t bring myself to think about it anymore, so I began my normal morning routine. Take a steaming hot shower, then in the last 2 minutes change the temperature to freezing cold. Towel dry hair, and get dressed. Return to the bathroom to put the slightly damp hair in an upswept fashion and apply makeup. Except today while I was turned at a slight angle to the large mirror to pin my hair in just the right places, I caught something moving in the corner of my eye through the mirror. I quickly turned around to see what it was and nothing was there. In my movement the large piece I was attempting to pin fell back down. I grabbed it again, and finished pinning it in place. “What exactly did I see, or at least think I saw? I saw...” I remembered seeing green and black in a sort of tall, person-like shape. “Now I really am losing my mind” I glanced at myself in the mirror again and approved the look before heading to the kitchen to make my morning cuppa. 

Sitting there with my tea in hand gave me time to think. Not always the best option, especially when you are me. Taking in the events of last night, this mornings discovery, and the thing (I refused to call it a person or even a living thing for that matter) in the mirror, I was getting slightly put off. What I really wanted to do is call in Sherlock to see what he could find out. But that was out of the question. He and I were both technically dead for one, even though we both had communicated after our ‘deaths’, and he had made me promise that I would not try to contact him over the course of this year, mumbling something about bad cell service or something. It was probably just a way for him to distance himself from me. which was probably for the best. 

Finishing my tea, I got up from the table, placed my cup in the sink, and continued with the remainder of my day. 

~Stranger’s POV~

I saw her leave through the front door, looking as if she was going to be gone the rest of the day. I decided it was safe enough for me to move freely through the house and find out more about this person. Moving into the kitchen from my hiding place, I saw the tea kettle sitting on the stove, and a cup sitting in the sink waiting to be cleaned. I made my way into her bedchambers to see what information I could further gather. She was neat and organized, that was apparent. Her clothes in the closet were organized by type, and then by colour. Her shoes were the same. Her bedsheets were made with not a wrinkle to be seen. I then began to delve further into her life by what her living arrangements could tell me. Maybe I should set up a surprise for her return...


	3. Chapter 3

I arrived back home later after a long afternoon of undercover police work. By undercover I mean that I practically dropped the evidence in their laps and delivered them the criminal, but they never knew who I was or even how the evidence seemed to appear. It was something I chose to do every so often. It kept my mind strong, and it bothered me to no end when a simple case was not solved in a couple days. 

I placed my overcoat on my coat rack by my door, and walked to my stereo in the living room. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I chose my Friday celebratory playlist, and placed my phone on the speaker dock waiting as my favourite songs greeted my ears like old friends. Without fully realizing it, I began to sway to the music and humming along my favourite bars to the current song “Put Your Records On” I have always loved this song, ever since it was released a few years back. It was just the song I needed to hear after this week, with all the spooky things going on around the house. 

As the song continued playing, I moved to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine. I leave the bottle on the counter in case I want more a bit later on, and move back into the living room. I stop facing my fireplace which my stereo system rests on top of. Yes, I have your traditional fireplace, complete with a mantle. The only modern aspect I changed, was this fireplace was electric. But the wooden mantle, and the marble hearth gave it a classic fireplace look. I got lost in the music, even as it shuffled through the playlist, when two cold hands rested on my shoulders from someone behind me. I turned around fully ready to slug the intruder into the next universe, but ended up punching air. My heart was racing as I tried to comprehend what just happened. I was sure it was hands that rested on my shoulders. They were cold, but definitely felt real. 

I turned wildly from side to side and felt myself begin to lapse into a panic-driven mindset. I had to consciously slow down my breathing to calm myself down. “There is nothing and no one here.” I went to take a long sip of my wine to continue calming myself when I realized I was no longer holding it. 

“Where’d my wine go?” I looked around, and quickly discovered I must have dropped the glass in my panic. Now red wine was all over my white shag carpet looking almost as if someone had just been violently murdered. “Damn. I’ll have to get the cleaners in tomorrow” I scratched a note to myself on my magnetic note pad hanging on my refrigerator door to call the carpet cleaners in the morning, and grabbed the club soda to pour over top of the spill in hopes it wouldn’t set too much. 

Still a bit shaken, I decided to sit down with one of my old friends, Pride and Prejudice, until I felt tired enough to tuck in for the night. It didn’t take me long apparently as I only got to the beginning of chapter two before I felt myself fighting to keep my eyelids open. I put the bookmark at my place, closed the book, placed it on the coffee table and shuffled to my room which was now enveloped in darkness. I switched on the light and saw my flannel pajamas laid out on the bed, appearing to be waiting for me. Except I didn’t put them there. I grabbed them and threw them across the room feeling creeped out once again. Instead I grabbed a tank top and pair of shorts to wear to bed. I didn’t even bother to brush my teeth or complete anything in my normal night routine, but instead crawled into bed and fell fast asleep. Not before the thought crossed my mind that if I kept imagining things and seeing things, I might have to check myself into a mental institution for my own wellbeing.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning and realized it was a Saturday. “Thank god for weekends.” I debated for a long time about moving from my bed as it was warm and very comfortable and most importantly felt safe from everything that kept happening to me. I was not usually a lazy person, even though I did enjoy a few moments here and there. In the end I knew I needed to get up and face the day with a boldness that would almost be called stupidity. “Just think Sherlock” I told myself as I stepped into my slippers, and tied my robe around myself. My first task on Saturdays was always to make a pot of tea. I shuffled into the kitchen, took out my tea kettle and began heating the water. 

Sitting down with my cup of earl grey, I picked up Pride and Prejudice from where I had place it the night before and went to open it where the bookmark was. But I noticed it was almost halfway through the book instead of a few chapters in like I expected. “I know for a fact I didn’t get that far in the novel last night...” It was not often it happened to me, but I was at a loss about what to do with this situation. I needed a second opinion. But the only person that would comprehend where I was coming from was Sherlock. I could call John, but, and no offence to him, but I was not sure if he would provide much assistance. “I need to call Sherlock. He said I could use the phone he gave to me the last time we met, if it was an emergency. And this situation is turning into a mental emergency in my opinion. I went to my bedroom and ducked my head under the bed searching for the small safety box I knew to be there. Grasping the cool metal with my fingers, I pulled it out, running my hands along the edges before pulling the lock open with a flick of my fingers. The dust layer that had coated the box flew into the air making me cough. The smell of the boxes interior brought back memories both happy and painful. Sherlock gave me this box, the last time he saw me before he faked his own death and disappeared. Granted I was supposedly dead as well, but that was a story for another day. Inside the box was a few case notes from the few Sherlock and I had collaborated on together, even some pictures he stole from the police files. I smiled as I remembered his blatant disregard for policies, or even the fact that he was breaking the law. Then again he did it so often, he probably thought nothing of it anymore. Moving the various items aside, I located the burner phone in the bottom corner. I pulled it out and simply held it in my hand staring at it, my resolve almost dissolving completely. I refused to fully admit that I had feelings for Sherlock beyond that of an intellectual partner, and I suppose a friend. “And that is all it is, a friendship” I closed the lid with more force then necessary and pushed it back under the bed. 

I walked out of the room still grasping the phone, and out to my porch. I loved this piece of land I was able to buy. It backed up to a serene lake where you could often see birds of all kinds drifting along, or flying overhead. It wasn’t really a pond one could fish in, but the select few that had access to the lake would sometimes take a small kayak out to enjoy the peace that the lake provided. I was sure I should try it sometime, but I was not really one to fully enjoy water. Not that I didn’t enjoy the beauty, but I liked to enjoy it from a distance. There have been a few times in my life where me and water did not get along. But again that is a story for another time. I sat down on my lounge chair and looked at the phone again. “I need to talk to him. At the least, leave a message.” I opened the contacts and dialed the only number listed. It was an unlisted number that went to Sherlock’s satellite phone. The phone rang incessantly in my ear, until the voicemail picked up. “Great. Who knows when I’ll be able to talk to him now.”

“Hey Sherlock. It’s me. When you get a chance, can you give me a call. Something has happened, and... Anyway, I need to talk to you. Please call me.” 

After I hung up, I almost felt more alone than before. Almost as if the phone call to Sherlock was my last lifeline and I have now used it with no reward. Who knew when or even if he even would call me back. I let out a sigh, and walked back in my house as there was a storm coming in and it was getting colder. 

Since I had nothing else to do today, except for waiting for Sherlock’s potential phone call, I decided to get back to my book. I lit the fireplace, and sat down on the couch, curling up in my favourite reading position, and grabbing my book. I felt for the bookmark, I notice that once again it has moved, almost at the end of the book. 

Standing up suddenly, I yelled “Alright whoever, or whatever you are. I am glad you are enjoying my book, and apparently having fun messing with my head, but you need to stop right now. I have better things to do with my time then being messed around by you.” 

I sat back down forcefully, and grabbed my book back up without opening it. “I just yelled at thin air. I am becoming more foolish as the hours pass. When is Sherlock going to contact me?”

~~~  
I have no idea what time it was, but it was early in the morning, when I awoke to the satellite phone I had placed next to my bed ringing its shrill tones. Sleepily I reached over and answered the phone with a groggy sounding “Hello?”

“Irene, Its Sherlock. Is everything alright? Everyone safe? Is there something wrong with John?”

“Sherlock! It’s alright! Everyone is fine. Last I knew John was doing fine, besides missing you but...

“Then why are you calling? I told you this phone was just for emergencies! I don’t want anything to happen to you just because someone tracked down our connection. It would put both of our well laid plans to waste.”

I could hear the agitation in his voice, not that I blamed him. I would most likely be in the same emotional state if our positions were switched. 

“I called because I needed a sane person to listen and understand what is happening to me and to reassure me that I am not going crazy. Do you have a few minutes to spare?”

He said he only had a few, so I gave him a brief overview of my last couple of days, and why it was making me question my sanity. Ending with me yelling at thin air earlier in the night, I fell silent waiting for him to process and respond. 

“Have you actually seen this person in front of you besides just in the mirror?”

“Seeing a glimpse in the mirror was the closest I have gotten. But you don’t think that was just my mind playing tricks?”

“I think you have an intruder in your house, most likely one that can either move quickly, or become invisible at the snap of fingers. Have you factored in the apparent glee this person gets from messing with your head? I believe that is one of the most key factors in figuring out who this is.”

“Yes of course I have thought about that factor, but I have come up short. So you don’t think I am going crazy?”

“Ruling out the impossible, whatever is left, however the improbable, must be the truth. I know your mind almost as well as my own and my dear you could never be labeled as insane. However, I might have an additional piece of information which might prove useful.”

He paused, and my curiosity got the better of me and I exclaimed for him to please continue on. He chuckled and continued. 

“I was reading through a book on Norse mythology to entertain myself and pass the time, and the different things you are describing reminds me much of the god of mischief. Are you at all familiar with Norse mythology?”

“I am a bit. Do you have any further information about this god of mischief?”

“His name is Loki. He has a few children, but only one of them is of human descent. He is said to be a child of Jotun, but raised by the Asguardian warriors as one of their own. He was raised with the god of thunder, Thor. Also, if you remember the disturbance in New York City a couple years ago, there are rumors Loki was the center of all of it, if the papers and my own deductions prove any worth. And I am sorry dear, but I have to go, we have most likely spoken too long as it is.”

“Thank you for your help Holmes. Can I call and leave messages about this whole thing if further developments are made?”

“Of course. But don’t expect a call back unless I deem it necessary to do so. Goodbye”

And with that he was gone. But I was much more reassured than before. My last thought before falling back to sleep was to learn more about this Loki character and see if what Holmes said had any validity.


	5. Chapter 5

I found myself in the library the next day with a stack of books, containing even a small piece of information regarding Norse mythology, or more specifically, Loki. So far what I had realized was Holmes was right about his background, not something I necessarily doubted. So far what I had found out besides that was very little. I knew he seemed to like wearing green, wore a gold horned helmet the majority of the time, was able to duplicate himself, and could teleport, but those were fairly superficial. He also seemed to love playing tricks on people, though with my research no tricks went to the point of harming someone, unless it was Thor. Everything he did, seemed to be fueled by his hatred for Thor, and the fact he was an adopted child in the Asguardian court. He appeared to have the idea he was entitled to certain privileges because he was a prince both on Joutenheim, his home planet, and on Asguard and would act accordingly. “This guy is messed up” I said in a hushed tone, “but it does sound very probable he is the one in my house based on the gathered information. The question now is, what am I going to do about it.” I began researching any weaknesses this Loki character would have, his proverbial Achilles heel, and came up with nothing except for his tendency to boast about his achievements, especially if in some way he bested Thor. “This is going to be impossible” I thought as I placed the stack of books on the cart for reshelving. The thought that he might not still be at my home crossed my mind as a last hop before I began the journey back home. 

I was dozing on the couch later that afternoon when I woke from the feeling I was being watched. Again. I sat up with a start, looking around for the culprit, even though I figured nothing would be there. I did, however, catch a glimpse of a dark green thing fluttering above the ground sparkling with gold colour shimmering around it. “I think I just saw a bit of this Loki character.” I stood up and again acted like a lunatic by shouting out “Alright I have figured out who you are! You are Loki, the god of Mischief, otherwise known as the Trickster, or Silvertounge. Show yourself to me!” I waited to see if he would actually reveal himself to me, but it was futile as nothing happened. 

~Stranger POV~  
Of course I did that on purpose, making her see just the corner of my cape as I disappeared from view. I smirked as I saw her yell to thin air, as I was standing in the room. It was quite amusing to be the one responsible for her sanity slowly slipping away. However, I could tell she was starting to come to her senses and figure out who I was, granted it was with a bit of help from her friend named Sherlock. It disappointed me a little bit honestly. I wanted her to figure out what was happening on her own, though thinking about it, I was not sure how she would have begun her investigative journey without a bit of a push in the right direction. Overall, I supposed I was glad for Sherlock’s help towards the whole thing. It would make the next part of my plan that much easier. 

~Irene POV~  
I wandered around the house the rest of the day, feeling very lethargic. I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself. There was a case I read about online that had been stumping the police, that I figured I had all sorted, but at the moment, I didn’t even find that interesting. I suppose I had almost accepted the fact that I was invaded in my home by a Norse god of mischief and deceit. It was still an extremely strange concept, but like Sherlock said, it must be the truth as it was the only non-impossible thing about my situation. “I think I need another bubble bath to think things over.

~~~  
Later, I found myself later researching Loki on the internet to see if there was any further information I could uncover. Specifically about any of his weaknesses I could use against him, to gain the upper hand again. I just didn’t feel right being the underdog in any situation. maybe that is why this entire thing didn’t sit well with me. Even my relationship with Sherlock, whatever kind of relationship it was, was a constant power struggle. Him being put off that I was a female just as intelligent as he is, then having to establish his dignity by showing off. Of course I always did something equally as astonishing to throw him off again. It was like one big elaborate game we played. And to tell the truth, I missed it. Talking to him on the phone even briefly, made me miss him more. Hopefully whatever mission he was currently on would be over soon, and then I could also miraculously come back from the grave. I am sure Mycroft would not appreciate all the legality that went along with us both returning from the dead, but he was in a position he could pull strings and smooth everything back over. Smiling at the remembrance of the time I asked Mycroft what exactly he did, and he gave me the answer “I am an accountant on the various accounts which the British Government holds. Merely a minor position.” Off in the corner, I recalled seeing Sherlock don one of his infamous smirks. 

I realized I had been daydreaming while staring unfocused at the computer screen. “I am not finding anything of relevance here. I need to tuck in for the night. Maybe I will dream of a good solution to my problem. 

~Stranger POV~  
I watched her as she turned off the glowing device and made her way into her bedchambers. It helped that she talked aloud as she did different things, as I did not want to establish a mind link with her to be able to read her thoughts. As of yet. From what I heard, she was unable to find my weakness. Understandable as I do not have any. I am a god. It comes with the territory. Maybe it was time to reveal myself to her and complete step one of my plan.


	6. Chapter 6

I groggily arose the next morning with the intention of not doing anything productive during the course of the day as I had not had the best nights sleep. 

I made my cup of tea, today settling on a spiced chai. It was getting cooler outside, and the spiced chai always smelled like apple pie, and made me feel at home no matter where I happened to be. I curled up on the couch and let the aroma and the warmth of the mug wrap around my senses as I slowly became more awake. I thought to what I wanted to do for the day, and realized that I really just wanted a lazy day. I really ought to go out for a short run, then take a relaxing bath, and maybe do a bit more research on this Loki character. It was probably scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel, but I was determined to not give up. I was not one to give easily into failure, and I could be quite stubborn when I wanted to be. 

~~~  
I got back from my 1 mile run, and decided to just take a quick shower instead of that bath I had planned earlier. I got the water going and climbed in the shower. I have always loved the feeling of the hot water flowing over me. My thought with showers has always been, the hotter the better. I did my normal water temperature routine, and began to shiver a bit as the cold water ran over me. I had read somewhere that it was a healthy thing to do. I can’t recall the exact reason why. I didn’t find that information especially pertinent, so like Sherlock would say, I deleted it. I turned off the water and blindly grabbed at my fluffy, white, cotton towel I knew to be on the hook just outside of the shower. I partially dried myself off before stepping out of the shower onto my overly fluffy bath mat. Yes there was a pattern to my decor. I loved fluffy things. And white went very well with my dark blue floor tile and countertop. I finished drying off my legs, and wrapped the towel around myself, and grabbed another smaller towel to wrap around my hair. Then I turned around. And felt my blood run cold. 

Standing in my doorway was Loki himself. Dressed in full battle gear. he had on his gold chest plate, his emerald green cape flowing behind him, and his iconic gold, horned helmet that partially wrapped around his face. I stood there clutching my towel, unsure at what to do. I was thinking a mile a minute to what I had learned regarding this intimidating figure, trying to come up with an idea of what to do in this situation. And I came up with nothing. Except for...I stood up as straight as I could, and then fell over in a faint simultaneously dropping my towel. Yes I did it completely on purpose as I wanted to watch this character as he was actually making himself seen at the moment, but I didn’t want him knowing I was doing so. 

I was laying on the cold tile floor, unsure about what to do, all the while maintaining the appearance of unconsciousness. Waiting for his next move. I heard him shift his weight around, and move over next to me. He knelt down, and I felt his arms wrap around me and with surprising gentleness, lifted me off of the floor. He carried me out of the bathroom, and to my bed, where he laid me on top of the down comforter. He then grabbed my extra afghan I had folded at the end of my bed, and laid it on top of me. I felt his hand ghost over my arm. If I didn’t know better, I would mistake his actions for one of affection. But from what I uncovered, I figured he was beyond that emotion. 

He didn’t do much more afterwards through what I could detect with my guise of unconsciousness. He left my room, but came back shortly and proceeded to sit in my lounge chair that was facing the pond through my picture windows. He came over apparently to check on me after a bit of time. I had to slow my breathing down to keep up the appearance of sleep, and it seemed to work, as he soon returned back to the chair. It was soon after that, I did drift off to sleep. 

~Loki POV~   
I realized she was false in her portrayal of unconsciousness almost immediately after I draped the blanket over her, as her breathing quickened in a manner she could not suppress when I let my fingers drift over her arm. Human emotions are a thin veil which one such as myself can easily see through. There was only one logical explanation to her keeping up the appearance, and that was to watch what I did, and gain a better understanding of who I was. So I gave her nothing. She probably didn’t know it, but I could hear her breathing, even from my place in her chair. I was watching the view the windows provided and thinking back to my view from my own windows, and at the same time listening to the pace of her breathing. I also had to play with her a bit and “check on her”. Of course she was smart enough to slow her breath intake. So I returned to the chair, until I heard her breathing fall into the steady rhythm that can only be provided by sleep. It was then that I left her room to wait until she awoke.


	7. Loki's Story

I decided I would let her sleep. I am not sure why I was allowing it, but then again, she was going to be crucial to my plan, and would need to be well rested before being informed about her role. I slid my helmet off and placed it on her table, and began to pace slowly around the rest of the area. I let my mind wander back to when I first discovered this creature. All I was looking for was a toy. Something to keep me preoccupied while Thor and Odin were having their latest conflict. I never liked to be around while they got that way. If I attempted to say something to show them both how the whole thing was idiotic, I would get yelled at, usually by both of them simultaneously then end up standing invisible at the door making sure no one came in to disturb them. No need to have others bear the brunt of the children’s rage as well. 

This time I didn’t want to end up being as useful as the tapestries in their eyes. I was going to show both of them that I was worth something. I was worthy enough to bear the name Odinson. My true parentage was not going to matter anymore. I was not going to let that define me anymore. I saw the fruit bowl still sitting on the countertop, and recalled to when I first arrived, and knocked it over accidentally. I laughed silently remembering how I lightly drugged her water that evening after giving her the thought she was thirsty before heading back to bed. The light drugging enabled me to move her from the bed to the floor. No real reason for doing so, except that I thought it entertaining. I loved the look on her face as she woke up disoriented and trying to piece together what happened during the night. Those moments were ones I lived for. 

Of course one could not forget all the random moments I appeared in her mirrors reflection. That was always amusing to me. I had picked up on that effect when I had chosen an older gentleman as my current plaything, and when I appeared, he thought I was a figment of his imagination. Ever since then, I have enjoyed making people think they are losing their minds. 

Then there was the strange case of the book she was reading. It appeared to be one of her more frequently read ones due to the excess of creasing in the binding and wearing around the edges. I too was a lover of books, and a few of mine back in Asguard looked very similar. I gently picked it up, and looked at the title of the work. Pride and Prejudice. I opened it to where the thin ribbon had been placed, and made a note of its position near the beginning of the title. I always enjoyed reading books others fully enjoyed, so this one peaked my interest. I turned back the few pages to the beginning of the book, and began reading. I soon became engrossed in the book to the point that I was halfway through the book when I heard stirring from the other room, and realized it was now mid morning. I hastily placed the ribbon bookmark in my place, and hurried out. 

I came back later and read the rest of it when I could as I was entranced by the story of Elizabeth Bennent. Some might call me soft for enjoying the story, but if it was wrong to enjoy a story of human struggle than so be it. Then again no one would ever say such a thing to my face, unless they wanted the death sentence. I did enjoy learning more about the spectrum of human emotion. It allowed me to better rule them even, factoring in the varied emotions and personalities.   
~  
I came out of my reverie with the sound of her arising from her rest. Now it was on to the rest of my plan, which was, to tell her my plan.


	8. Chapter 8

I woke up a bit disoriented. From the light outside, it appeared to be midday and looking at the clock on my nightstand, by suspicions were confirmed. 2:36 pm. "What happened?" I recalled taking a shower, then I was drying off when...I stopped mid thought. "Loki!" I leapt out of bed, not realizing that I currently was completely nude, but thankfully I realized that fact before I opened my door. I threw on some clothes, not caring about if they at all matched. They were clothes and for the moment were serving a purpose. I placed my hand on the door handle, and my resolve completely vanished. What was I doing? He was a Norse god! And I was just a human! Mind you a highly intelligent one, but a mortal human nonetheless. Was I really going to face him, and accept whatever plan he obviously must have for me? Otherwise why would he have stuck around for so long? I can't possibly be that interesting. Then for some reason, Sherlock came to mind. If he were in this situation, what would he do? He would just go ahead and open the door. Abandon all reason, and dive head first into whatever danger might lie in wait. And that is what I was going to do as well.   
I slowly pulled down the handle, and opened the door a slight crack. There he was. Looking very majestic, sitting in my armchair facing the pond. He seemed to enjoy the view my large windows offered. He looked almost relaxed sitting there, but at the same time looked ready to pounce on the next unsuspecting victim. like a venus fly trap. Biding its time, until the fly is caught in the sticky syrup and cannot escape no matter how hard it struggles. I opened the door enough for me to slip out and made my way over to him. Tiptoeing my way over thinking I might be able to catch him off guard and come out of this with the upper hand. But of course I would not be allowed that luxury. He jumped up from the chair, turning to face me as he did so. His height, even without the aid of his horned helmet was intimidating. His emerald green eyes wandered over me, probably taking in my haphazard appearance. There was something in his eyes I just couldn't make out. There was a sparkle of mischief, but there was also something else. Something much deeper behind the apparent wall he had created. There was a deadness, almost evil tint. And to be honest it scared me. I had seen that combination of evil and mischief look before in only one other person. Professor Moriarty. Taking care of him, had caused both Sherlock and I to "die" and leave behind all of our loved ones. And now I was faced with that same hard look again. Where was Sherlock when I needed him?

“I am glad you decided to join the world of the conscious today. There is a pot of hot water ready on the stovetop if you care to partake as well as the things necessary for tea making. I know how partial you are to your tea and thought it might ease our discussions. But do not expect this kindness often.”

His comment was unexpected, but I went to finish making the tea, as I didn’t want to refuse after he had apparently went out of his way to prepare the ingredients. The tea was steeping, so I carried the steaming mug over to my couch, and sat down, unsure at what to do next. One part of me wanted to barrage him with questions, and figure out what exactly he was doing in my home, and the other part of me wanted to cower beneath his menacing gaze. Fortunately for my conscious, my logical being took charge. “So,” I began pausing to take a sip of my tea. “What exactly are you doing here?”

Suddenly feeling more bold than I probably ought to, I stood up and crossed the room, closing the distance between us. "I have read all about you, and know you must have a reason for being here. What I don't understand, is why you have stayed around for so long. My life cannot possibly be that interesting which leads me to believe you have a bigger plan in mind." At this point I was circling him, still pausing to sip on my tea every so often. I might have been getting a bit too bold, but I was enjoying this. Having a god in my control was way too good to be true. "And I am going to come to the conclusion that I am a part of your plan. Probably not an original piece of the puzzle, but your plan must have changed. Perhaps it was something you saw me do, or something that you discovered, or maybe you realized your plan could not be carried out by yourself. Either way you need me now." I leaned up on my toes and place my hands on the backs of his shoulders. "And I am a girl who enjoys being in that position of power. Now tell me, what part am I to play in this grand scheme of yours?" Now I was just inches from his face, my tea cup long forgotten on the table I had passed while circling him. Something flashed in his eyes. I am not sure what it was. Lust? Uncertainty? Whatever it was, was gone in a flash His eyes changed to the dark green that I had seen before. He grabbed my arms and held me at an arms distance away. "Never forget that I am your god. I will be the one in charge. Never you, no matter what perception you might create for yourself." he snarled leaning in to provide me the full effect of his words. 

It was impossible for a flash of fear not to cross my face, which I am sure he saw, but it was quickly replaced by my boldness returning. I turned my back to him, and walked to my kitchen to make another cup of tea. Not that I needed or even wanted another one, but it gave me something to preoccupy myself with while I planned my next move with him. Until I saw a major difference, I was going to treat Loki with the same attitude as I did Moriarty. Stay one step ahead of him, continually remind him of my genious intelligence, and if he gained the upper hand at anytime, then quickly change gears to think of what to do next. 

“So. From what I can tell, you are trying to show how your dominant nature? I can tell you now it is not going to work on me. I have met many a man like you, and have been able to not only work alongside them, but learn their weaknesses and, eventually make them fall in love with me, or get them killed or even ruin their reputation to the point they wish they were dead. So what am I going to do for you? Absolutely nothing, unless I want to. So get talking and convince me, otherwise this is not going anywhere further.” I turned back around, grabbed my tea, and sat down heavily on the couch. Loki was still standing as still as a statue. To be honest, it was scaring me a bit, because how could one person stand still for that long! I looked up at Loki. He slowly turned to me, then began to shimmer and turn transparent. It happened so fast I was unable to figure out what was happening, then the next thing I knew he was behind me making me flinch bad enough to cause my scalding hot tea to spill over the side of the cup and onto my lap. He grabbed my shoulders firmly, and whispered in my ear, “You think you are so clever don’t you? You think you can outsmart a god? Many have tried and none have succeeded. I can see you are in no position to be listening to me, so I will be back later, but here is a little something to keep me in mind until I return.” And with that he disappeared. “What did he mean by that?” I wondered, but then my mind quickly realized that I still had burning hot tea soaking in my clothes, and spilled all over my hand. “Damn!” I put the cup down, and ran to my room where I ran my hand under cold water to lessen the pain of the slight burn I now had. I took off my pants, and changed into new ones, and then noticed I also had a bit of spill on my shirt as well. I took that one off, and began to put another one on when I saw it. A small mark on my shoulder where Loki’s hand had been. It was an emerald green snake, the same colour as Loki’s eyes, that was curled around a golden staff with an ice blue tip. “That had better not be permanent!” I yelled into the empty room, though I could swear I heard a faint chuckle come from the opposite side of my room. Disgusted, I pulled my shirt over my head, and moved on with my day.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki's POV

She was a feisty one that is for sure. I knew I made a good decision when I chose her. It was quite difficult not to laugh at her pathetic attempts to figure me out, and to gain the upper hand earlier. Which is why I had to remind her who I was. It was a simple trick really, the duplication and teleportation. It was one of the first tricks I had learned when I was a boy. I had way too much fun messing with the guards, and of course with Thor. He was the most fun to play tricks on as he always had an explosive reaction. I smiled as I thought back to some of the things I had done over the years on Asguard. But Irene on the other hand. She kept surprising me. I would have her figured out, or at least I thought I did, and then she would change directions completely and I would have to start the process over.

She probably thought I had left her alone, but of course I was going to stick around and see what she would do next. Especially when she discovered what I placed on her shoulder. It didn’t take her long, as she changed her attire from having spilled tea over herself. She yelled out to the ‘empty room’ that the mark had better not be permanent and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Apparently she had figured I hadn’t left her completely. Yes, she would be a fun one for sure. Tomorrow I would make sure we had a sit down and talked about what was going to happen next with her future in the new world I was going to create. But until then, I would let her have the remainder of the day to herself. 

I decided I would leave her all to herself for a bit, that mark on her shoulder would allow me to see what she was seeing if I really wanted to. I was going to explore the world outside of these doors for a while. I had been in New York City before, most people would remember the desolation and catastrophe that struck there over a year ago, but I had not had the chance to explore anywhere else on Miguard. This “Florida” was something new. For one thing there were less people, this could be a problem, but if it came to world domination, everyone would be enslaved by me eventually. This meant it really didn’t matter where I started. And Irene, I could see already was going to become a crucial part of this plan. I wasn’t sure of the concrete details, but I had enough of the plan formulated, that she could have a bit of free will, and figure out how to accomplish those tasks on her own. She was intelligent enough to cover that aspect. I walked along the sidewalks getting few glances from passersbys. There were not many people out at the current time, but those that did pass would see me and then turn away not wanting to stare. How could they not notice me? I was in full battle armor, complete with my helmet. I was a sight to be seen. They probably were wondering if I was part of a traveling circus. I passed a playground where a few children were climbing around on the various colourful piping, and swinging on the swingset. One particular child was on the swing and stopped cold when he saw me walking by. “This could be fun” I said to myself. I stopped and turned toward the young boy and gave my biggest grin. Without further warning, I transported myself to where I was right next to him. He looked at me, and screamed so loud all the parents probably thought he had bashed his head in and was bleeding to death. What looked to be his mother, ran over to the kid, as he jumped off the seat, and ran at full speed into her arms. I could not hear what he was saying, but I could guess. He was probably saying a ghost had smiled at him, then just appeared next to him. As if by magic. “That was fun” I thought, as I continued on my chosen walking path. I noticed it getting darker in the area, and also noticed the dark clouds in the distance. “Looks like a storm is coming in. Perhaps Thor and Father have finished their argument and have realized I am gone? On the other hand, they could just be going another round. Doesn’t matter. I have my own plans now.” 

I decided to make my way back to her home as the temperature was starting to drop with the approaching storm. I should think about heading back to my own home, but I really didn’t feel like it. For all I knew they didn’t even know that I was gone yet even though I had been gone for close to a week. Their arguments have been known to last for days, and their longest one lasted for two weeks. That one Mother had to step in and end it. They both couldn’t even say what the argument had begun about. They seemed surprised that I had been in the room the entire time making sure they didn’t give each other permanent scars. I really was just a fly on the wall in their mind. That is all I was since the day I was born. Always the youngest, the weakest, and the less intelligent or so they thought. That is until I learned to make full use of my magic. Then people started noticing me. Magic gave me power. Magic gave me rank, gave me a sense of importance. It also made people fear me, but that was just a positive bonus in my mind. I had come to realize I liked when people feared me. Maybe that is why Irene puzzled me so. She didn’t fear me like everyone else did. A few times I saw fear flash across her features, but it was quickly controlled, and was replaced by a spirit of boldness, and wit that was not found in many humans I had previously met. 

By now I was back at her door, and decided to enter again and see what she was doing, though the heavy magic I had previously used on her probably meant she would be sleeping by this time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki's POV

She was a feisty one that is for sure. I knew I made a good decision when I chose her. It was quite difficult not to laugh at her pathetic attempts to figure me out, and to gain the upper hand earlier. Which is why I had to remind her who I was. It was a simple trick really, the duplication and teleportation. It was one of the first tricks I had learned when I was a boy. I had way too much fun messing with the guards, and of course with Thor. He was the most fun to play tricks on as he always had an explosive reaction. I smiled as I thought back to some of the things I had done over the years on Asguard. But Irene on the other hand. She kept surprising me. I would have her figured out, or at least I thought I did, and then she would change directions completely and I would have to start the process over.

She probably thought I had left her alone, but of course I was going to stick around and see what she would do next. Especially when she discovered what I placed on her shoulder. It didn’t take her long, as she changed her attire from having spilled tea over herself. She yelled out to the ‘empty room’ that the mark had better not be permanent and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Apparently she had figured I hadn’t left her completely. Yes, she would be a fun one for sure. Tomorrow I would make sure we had a sit down and talked about what was going to happen next with her future in the new world I was going to create. But until then, I would let her have the remainder of the day to herself. 

I decided I would leave her all to herself for a bit, that mark on her shoulder would allow me to see what she was seeing if I really wanted to. I was going to explore the world outside of these doors for a while. I had been in New York City before, most people would remember the desolation and catastrophe that struck there over a year ago, but I had not had the chance to explore anywhere else on Miguard. This “Florida” was something new. For one thing there were less people, this could be a problem, but if it came to world domination, everyone would be enslaved by me eventually. This meant it really didn’t matter where I started. And Irene, I could see already was going to become a crucial part of this plan. I wasn’t sure of the concrete details, but I had enough of the plan formulated, that she could have a bit of free will, and figure out how to accomplish those tasks on her own. She was intelligent enough to cover that aspect. I walked along the sidewalks getting few glances from passersbys. There were not many people out at the current time, but those that did pass would see me and then turn away not wanting to stare. How could they not notice me? I was in full battle armor, complete with my helmet. I was a sight to be seen. They probably were wondering if I was part of a traveling circus. I passed a playground where a few children were climbing around on the various colourful piping, and swinging on the swingset. One particular child was on the swing and stopped cold when he saw me walking by. “This could be fun” I said to myself. I stopped and turned toward the young boy and gave my biggest grin. Without further warning, I transported myself to where I was right next to him. He looked at me, and screamed so loud all the parents probably thought he had bashed his head in and was bleeding to death. What looked to be his mother, ran over to the kid, as he jumped off the seat, and ran at full speed into her arms. I could not hear what he was saying, but I could guess. He was probably saying a ghost had smiled at him, then just appeared next to him. As if by magic. “That was fun” I thought, as I continued on my chosen walking path. I noticed it getting darker in the area, and also noticed the dark clouds in the distance. “Looks like a storm is coming in. Perhaps Thor and Father have finished their argument and have realized I am gone? On the other hand, they could just be going another round. Doesn’t matter. I have my own plans now.” 

I decided to make my way back to her home as the temperature was starting to drop with the approaching storm. I should think about heading back to my own home, but I really didn’t feel like it. For all I knew they didn’t even know that I was gone yet even though I had been gone for close to a week. Their arguments have been known to last for days, and their longest one lasted for two weeks. That one Mother had to step in and end it. They both couldn’t even say what the argument had begun about. They seemed surprised that I had been in the room the entire time making sure they didn’t give each other permanent scars. I really was just a fly on the wall in their mind. That is all I was since the day I was born. Always the youngest, the weakest, and the less intelligent or so they thought. That is until I learned to make full use of my magic. Then people started noticing me. Magic gave me power. Magic gave me rank, gave me a sense of importance. It also made people fear me, but that was just a positive bonus in my mind. I had come to realize I liked when people feared me. Maybe that is why Irene puzzled me so. She didn’t fear me like everyone else did. A few times I saw fear flash across her features, but it was quickly controlled, and was replaced by a spirit of boldness, and wit that was not found in many humans I had previously met. 

By now I was back at her door, and decided to enter again and see what she was doing, though the heavy magic I had previously used on her probably meant she would be sleeping by this time.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I am nervous about this chapter cause of the different characters in this one. Let me know what you guys think..*hides in the corner*

Heimdall stood as all keepers of the portal ought to when on duty. Tall, menacing, and unmoving unless the King gave a direct order to do otherwise. At the moment he was simultaneously performing a second task that Odin had given. Keep an eye on Loki and report if anything strange happens. Odin and Thor had been arguing the past few days, but when they calmed down, they realized Loki was nowhere to be found. Thor wanted to raise the alarm, but Odin simply told Heimdell to keep a watch. Heimdall had quickly located him on the realm of Midgard, but reported that he appeared to be safe, and simply taking the time away from the palace as a respite. 

However, something changed today. Loki’s thoughts turned towards a different goal that worried Heimdall, and it must be reported to Odin, and simultaneously, Thor. A meeting was quickly called to order, and Heimdall found himself standing before the King and Thor. “Loki’s thoughts have been turned toward something we never thought was possible a second time” he said. He means to rule the Midguardian realm. And this time he has recruited the help of a young female. As of now she has not given into his plans, but I can tell she is beginning to consider it. He has weakened her resolve, and convinced her this is something she needs. If my advice is being sought in this situation, I would say to contact the one called Nick Fury, to enlist the help of those who are called the Avengers. They were of great help in the previous situation, and perhaps they would be of use once again.”

Thor and Odin seemed to consider this information, and it was eventually decided that Heimdall’s advice rang logical. Thor was appointed with the responsibility to contact Director Nick Fury and inform him of the potential disaster that just around the corner. 

~~~  
“But this is my brother we are talking about! Do you not remember the catastrophe he caused and the great number of people who were slaughtered that day?” Thor yelled at Nick Fury. 

“While I do realize this, Loki, at this time, is not a threat to national security. If such a time comes where the safety of the citizens is threatened, then necessary action will be taken at said time. Until then, we do not have the means to launch such a campaign to stop something from happening, that might not even happen in the first place!”

“You listen to me, mortal. I know my brother better than anyone on this puny planet. He will not stop once he has an idea in his head, and right now that idea is to reign in terror. Did you not hear me say that he has also gotten a lady to help him in this diabolical plan? What about her safety? Is she of no concern to you?” 

“If it will appease your mind, then I will set a security detail on her for a few days and see what happens, but no. She is of her own mind from what you can tell, yes? Until that changes, we are not going to be interfering. Now if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to.” 

Director Fury turned away from Thor and hoped that would successfully end the conversation as his answer was not going to change. Fortunately, Thor also decided it was the end of the conversation. With a flash of rainbow light, Thor was gone, and Fury was alone in the room. Or so he thought. 

Clint Barton was sitting in his favourite spot in any room. High up and in the corner with the best visual advantage. He also was able to hear almost everything that was said in this room, due to the shape. Yup, when I pick a favourite spot, I really know how to pick ‘em he thought. 

Thor sounded really adamant that Loki was on the way to destruction similar or worse than before. And honestly, he was more concerned about this female that had somehow caught Loki’s attention and was now a part of everything, or at least on the way to doing so. “Maybe I should go and keep an eye on things myself since Fury isn’t planning on doing anything about it. And besides, I can always use the target practice if anything goes wrong. And if foiling his plan is what it takes, then I can consider it retribution for including me in his plans before without my previous knowledge or consent.”


	12. Chapter 12

~Loki POV~  
I returned to her residence after a few hours of being gone, and found her still sleeping on the couch in the same position I left her. Perhaps she did not move at all? I found the evidence of her having made tea with two tea cups sitting on the table next to her, even though the one was only half gone. There was also tea supplies still sitting in the kitchen. Appeard as if she had gotten up a few times, tried to wake herself up, then gave into sleeping again. This was evidence of a troubled mind. Just the kind I liked. I did feel a twinge of regret having been the one to turn her life as she knew if upside down, but at the same time, I needed her to completely rely on me if I was going to get her to help me. I had previously taken off my helmet, and changed my clothes in preference of a more Midguardian dress. This particular one was a black tailored suit, with a green and gold scarf to complement. I walked back to the front of the couch looking at her sleeping. I began pulling at the blanket she was clutching in an attempt to wake her up. I could easily read her mind and find out if she had decided anything, but I would rather hear it come from her own lips. Besides, if this was going to be a partnership of sorts, then I supposed I needed to give her a few privileges in the arrangement. 

~Irene’s POV~  
I started to regain consciousness when I felt my current shred of security, namely the fleece blanket, being pulled from my tight grasp. I attempted to hold on tighter, and maintain it on top of me, but whatever was pulling it away was a lot more determined, stronger, and much more awake than I was. I gave up and let go, as the blanket was quickly pulled the rest of the way off. I curled up into a tighter ball on the couch trying to forget my current existence. I didn’t want to be here, there was no point to anything anymore, no one was around that cared, no one to check in on me. Not that they really knew to, since I was “dead” but that thought did not cross my mind at this point. 

“You need to get up now, and quit feeling sorry for yourself!” The demanding voice came from close by, I knew the voice, but didn’t care to place it. 

“I’m not moving. There is nothing to live for anymore. What is the point?” I suddenly felt the man appear very close to my face. I opened my eyes cautiously in case there was blinding light still outside, but found it was the darkness of night all around. When my eyes were open enough, I saw those impossibly green eyes facing me. 

“You do have something to live for. You can help me. You can prove yourself. Now get up before I make you.”

I sat up and looked at him right in the eyes with as much effort as I could muster and rolled away from him in defiance. 

I heard him mumble something under his breath and then I felt him pulling me off the couch until I rolled onto the cold floor and hit it hard. 

“Ouch! That was uncalled for!” I said as I rubbed my backside. I was cross with him now. 

“I gave you fair warning.” Loki said with a bit of a sneer. 

I grabbed the blanket from Loki, wrapping it tight around myself again, walking over to the large window. “I...I just don’t know what to do with myself at this point. I want to help you, but what can I possibly offer?”

Loki came and stood behind me. “I need someone with extensive knowledge of this worlds workings, someone who can blend into the crowd easily, as well as someone who can compete with my intelligence. I need to throw ideas at someone once in awhile, but usually no one is able to understand what I am talking about.”

I had a momentary flashback of Sherlock talking to the Mantle Skull, or George as I referred to him as, and gave a hint of a smirk. Loki took that to mean that I was all for this plan. 

“Does that mean you are going to help me?”

I guess this is what I was doing. I wasn’t going to spend anymore time feeling sorry for myself, or telling myself that this was highly illogical. I was going to go forward with everything, and no one was going to tell me otherwise. I turned to look at him, having to tilt my head up to look him in the eyes. 

“Yes. I am in. What is going to be the first step?”

“The first step,” he replied with a bit of a smirk on his face, “Is to get you cleaned up. You are starting to smell like a zoo animal, your eyes are sunken in, you have dried tears on your face, and your hair is in desperate need of help. You will need to be professional looking in order to fully help me. Now go. I don’t want to see you again until you are looking better.”

“Yes sir.” I said while giving a mock curtsey. I took the blanket from my shoulders and draped it over his arm while walking past towards my room and bathroom. 

“I am a god, not a coat rack!” he yelled after me. 

I smiled as I closed the door softly behind me. I was beginning to see that soft spot in him more and more. Why did I ever think he was as evil as Moriarty? He had no soft spot to speak of. Except, surprisingly enough, when he found a man named Sebastian Moran. They seemed to hit it off right away, and Jim seemed to want to do anything he could to protect the young man. It was very strange indeed. 

I looked in the bathroom mirror and saw exactly what Loki was talking about. I was a mess! My hair looked as if some birds were inhabiting it for a few days, I had dried mascara stains on the tops of my cheeks, my eyeshadow was smeared to the side of my face, and on top of it all, I was pale, and looked as if I hadn’t gotten much rest the past few days. 

“This is going to require a whole day at the spa to get anywhere.”

I came back out to the living room to discover that Loki was perusing over the various titles on my bookshelf, seeming to be looking for one to read.

“I recommend every title on there, but I think you would especially like 1984 by George Orwell. It seems right up your alley.” I said that in passing while I walked through the house attempting to locate my phone to contact my favourite spa, and personal stylist, Bob. He was one of my best friends, and one of the only people who knew I was still alive. Then again, he didn’t know that I was supposed to be dead. No sense involving him in unnecessary matters, and besides, I need someone to help me look my best. He did it all too. Manicures, pedicures, hairstyles and colouring. I had gone to him a few times when I needed a drastic change in my look for undercover detective work that I did every so often. He would never ask questions either. Just small talk while he worked and we went our separate ways. Even when I told him I needed to look like a 90 year old Jewish lady. I had often told Mycroft to hire him in the British secret service, but he just blew it off and said there was no such thing, even though Sherlock had plainly told me before that he was lying. 

I dialed the phone number I had memorized instead of keeping around just as a precaution. I got the voicemail, which usually happened. 

“Hey Bob. It’s me. I got a big job for ya and I need you to work your magic. Call me back cause I need to get in as soon as possible.”

I hung up the phone and placed it on the counter making sure that the ringer was loud enough for me to hear it if he was to call back.

“There. That is taken care of. Is there any particular look you are thinking of my lord?” I said sarcastically. 

Loki scoffed “Why should I care what you look like? As long as you look more presentable than you currently do, then I am satisfied. You could change your hair colour to the shade of the Jotunheim ice floors and I could care less.”

I looked at him strangely. Most men I knew when faced with a question about the appearance of a female would simply blow it off, not expound on the topic. But then again Loki technically wasn’t a man. Maybe that was as simple as the explanation was going to get.


	13. Chapter 13

Usually I did a bit of research on what hairstyle and colour I wanted before seeing Bob, and since nothing was getting done according to Loki until I had seen him, I had plenty of time to do so. I visited my usual sites for ideas, and nothing jumped out at me as exciting or fresh. They were all things I had done before and I was beginning to get frustrated. “UG!” I yelled out as I closed my laptop with more force than necessary. 

“What has you so troubled?” Loki said hearing my distressed outburst. He came over to stand closer to me. 

“You said you didn’t care. So bugger off” I told him briskly. 

“You got me. I do care a bit. I will need to know what to wear myself so we can colour coordinate” he said with a similar sarcastic undertone I had dished out to him. 

“Very funny.” I flashed a tight smile towards him. “But if you must know, I want something very different than the look I have now, but that is as far as I got. You wouldn’t have any suggestions would you?”

He raised his eyebrow at me. 

“Who am I kidding. You are the all mighty Loki. Any suggestions you happen to give are going to be in jest.” I began walking away from him in the direction of my room wanting to be secluded for a bit of time. 

“Actually my dear, you forget that I am a master of disguise as well. And I might have a few ideas to contribute. If you don’t mind, I could show you one I have and you can see what you think. It would only take a few minutes of your time then you can continue to view the other choices if this does not strike your fancy.”

I shrugged. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.” I stood up, unsure about where I needed to be or if I should be standing or sitting.

He must have read my mind for he chuckled. “I don’t want you seeing it until it is done, so no mirror. And for your own comfort, you can sit on one of your bar stools. And don’t worry, anything I do, will not be permanent for it will be changed with the use of magic.”

I grabbed one of the stools from my kitchen, and moved it to the living room. Away from any mirrors. It did not go unnoticed the change in atmosphere. It was almost electric, at least for me. Tingling with uncertainty, excitement, and anticipation.

“Now. This will only take about 5 minutes. Close your eyes, and don’t open them until I say so.”

He took the large clip out of my hair that was holding it in place, and my hair tumbled down until it stopped at waist length. My breath hitched as he ran his fingers through my hair with a gentleness I would not expect from a Asguardian god. As he ran his fingers through, all the tangles magically unraveled, and my hair became smoother and softer than it ever has been before. A shorter piece fell over my shoulder and wrapped itself loosely around my face. I dipped my head forward a bit, as I was becoming uncomfortable with the current arrangement. 

“Keep your head straight, and don’t move” He growled as he tipped my head back to the original position. 

He loosely gathered my hair at the nape of my neck, then reached to grab the one loose section of hair from by my face. His fingers absently brushed against my face. His fingers were a lot softer than I imagined them to be. I expected callused and weathered, however they were as soft as if he had never worked a day in his life. Which he probably never had now that I thought about it. 

Once my hair was gathered, he began to divide it in sections as if to braid it, but instead he dropped the sections in groups along my back. Then he began running his fingers through each section a few times each. Each strand of hair in the section he would be attentive towards, seemed like it was electrified. I didn’t know what magic being used on oneself felt like, but I could guess this was it. A light tingling feeling that began at the origination point, and began spreading through the rest of my body down to my toes. I curled my toes involuntarily, and shuddered as the sensation was becoming a bit too much for me to handle once he got to the third of the five sections. 

“I said sit still.”

He gave me a second to regain my composure, then began again. Once he had finished with the last section, he returned to the very first section the part that would curl around my face when it was brushed out. “This one will require a bit more intense magic to be used, but the sensation will not last long.”  
I nodded, and his fingers ghosted over the strands of hair. It felt like a wave of electricity had hit me, and it was extremely difficult to sit still. The same thing was done to the opposite side with the same result. But as soon as the sensation had come, it was gone again. 

“It is complete. You can stand up and look in the mirror now if you choose.” 

I slid off the stool, and stood up. My whole body felt tingly, and I attributed it to the left over magic that was probably still lingering. I walked into my bedroom and went to my full length mirror in the corner. What I saw took my breath away for a moment. The person facing me could not possibly be me. My hair was now jet black, the same colour as Loki’s hair, but the sections that would frame my face had a hint of emerald green and gold. However that was not the only change. I also had on a knee length gold satin dress with an emerald green belt around the waist. I couldn’t believe that was really me. I looked so different than usual, but I loved it. I walked back out to where Loki was still standing apparently wanting to know my feedback. 

“Loki, I...I love it!” 

“I should hope so. Using that much magic at once has put me in a weaker state. But I am glad you like my work. However that result will not last long. It will be back to normal in 48 hours. However the dress, if you so wish, can stay around.”

“That sounds great. And I am thinking I will have Bob do this very same look when I see him. Although I am not sure he can make it look as good as it does right now.”

I was sure I saw him smirk, but it was gone so quickly, I was unable to call him out on it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken so long to get this next one up. School started up and life got crazy. :D

By now, Loki had explained a bit of his plan to me. He was wanting me to take care of more the detail side of things, while he dealt with more of the blowing up, yelling, and ruling aspect. 

To be honest his whole ‘I must rule the world no matter whatever the cost” determination scared me a bit. I was worried he would become so determined at his goal, that he would forget about the things that mattered, injure himself, or worse forget about me. Yes, I was beginning to have feelings for him. not romantic feelings in any sort of the word, I wasn’t in the mood for getting my heard broken again, but friendship feelings for sure. I didn’t want anything to happen to him in this endeavor. 

He wanted me to figure out the best way to ruling Florida, don’t even ask me why, and then we could go from there depending on how things went. I had a few ideas, but none of them were concrete yet. My first thought, which I abruptly blurted out to him, was starting with Disney World. There were many people there from all around the world, and Orlando was the most densely populated area that was in the near vicinity. He immediately thought the idea was brilliant, but I told him I wanted to think it through a bit more and see if I could come up with anything better. He was insistent I would not be able to as that was the most brilliant idea he had heard in a long time. To be honest, hearing him say that was a big boost to my confidence and pride. I loved hearing compliments about my intelligence, which is probably how I ended up falling for Sherlock. 

“Are you ready to go?” Loki appeared next to me breaking me out of my reverie. He had decided to change into the tailored black suit he said he had previously worn, for it would not gain as much attention as his other outfit would. I had been in the process of getting my shoes on as he said he wanted to take me out for a walk to break me out of the mood I was in. I guess I was still in kind of a funk as some would call it, and figured a walk and some fresh air couldn’t hurt. 

“Um... yeah I am ready” I said as I finished lacing up my other boot. 

We began walking through the park. I always enjoyed coming here. The smell of the grass and the freshly dampened dirt, and the sounds of nature. I liked watching the various people going about their business. I was so lost in my people watching activities, that I did not hear Loki say something to me. 

“Irene? Are you listening?”

“Hmm..? Oh. Sorry. What were you saying?”

“I asked if you wanted to see a bit of fun. There are two older gentlemen playing that game of chess by that oak tree. You see them?”

I wearily nodded yes and looked questioning at Loki wondering what he was thinking of doing.

I continued watching the pair of old men, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loki raise his hands to waist height, and contort his fingers in strange positions. The next thing I knew, there were a few pieces on the chessboard beginning to move to different locations. They were pieces from both sides of the game. As the men looked in confusion, their two hats, one a baseball cap, and the other a fishing style hat, began lifting off of their heads. I heard Loki chuckle as the hats began swapping themselves and then landing again on opposite heads. Loki laughed again, putting his hand back to rest at his side. 

I shook my head not understanding the whole point of it all, but it was entertaining, and it made him happy, which in turn made me happy. 

We continued walking and got to the small park where kids were often seen playing on the various equipment. We got to where it came into view, and Loki started laughing. Not his usual soft chuckle, but full on laughing. 

“What is so funny?” I asked as I saw him tearing up with laughter. 

“Well the last time I was here I completely freaked out a young boy, as well as pulled a few more tricks on people. That was a beautiful afternoon. I should tell it to you in greater detail sometime.” He said as he wiped the tears from his eyes that had started to pool. “Wanna see something else?” He said with a glint of mischief. He looked like a little boy when he looked like that. How could I say no to that?

I gave a little smile, and nodded my approval. If at all possible, his face lit up even more and his smile got bigger. “Alright. Stand here and just watch.” 

“Don’t hurt anyone!” I yelled after him as he walked rapidly over to the swing set.

I watched him curiously as he didn’t seem to be doing anything but watching one older boy, he could easily have been in his 20s but I couldn’t tell very well from my vantage point. He was showing off to the group of a couple people he was with, as they were laughing along with him. He kept running up to an empty swing, placing his foot on the seat and swinging over a rather large sized puddle. Then when back on the front side, would jump off and be proud for not falling in. He did it a few more times with the same result. 

“I wanna try it too!” One of the girls in the group exclaimed. She had long blond hair that trailed behind her as she ran towards the empty swing. I looked at Loki and he flashed me a small smirk. I quickly turned my full attention back to the girl as I expected something was about to happen. 

As soon as she fully planted her foot on the swing and her momentum carried her directly over the large muddy puddle, her foot seemingly suddenly slipped from the swing. This action caused her to lose her grip on the swing handles, and fall flat on her back in the puddle. But the puddle was also a lot deeper than it should have been. She should have landed where maybe only half of her disappeared, however the entire puddle seemed to swallow her whole. Her three friends quickly ran over to assist her as she was struggling to stand up, and I noticed she was now covered in muddy water from head to toe. I should not have been amused, but I definitely was. I attempted to hide my laughter behind my hand, but it wasn’t working very well. Especially when Loki appeared next to me, I swore he was a ninja sometimes with how silently he moved around. He was also struggling to hide his laughter. However as soon as we looked at each other we lost it. Doubling over in laughter at the whole situation, especially when we heard the girl exclaim, “I am disgusting! I have to shower stat!” 

We composed ourselves a few minutes later and I wiped the tears that had begun to form from my eyes. “Wow. That was the most I have laughed in so long!” 

Loki looked at me “I’m glad you are able to enjoy yourself on our outing.”

We continued our walk, eventually getting to the small town nearby. We walked through the small farmers market area that gets set up for a few hours everyday. I decided to get a few pieces of fresh fruit, as I could never seem to have enough in the house. Then we made our way back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is what Loki did to the girl:  
> http://www.adailybrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/epic-fail-photos-fail-nation-swallowed-by-a-puddle-fail.gif


	15. Chapter 15

~Hawkeye POV~

I had been watching them for the last two days. Irene seemed to become closer to Loki, and surprisingly he was showing her some kindness in various ways. I would never have thought him capable of such an emotion, but I was glad to see he was treating her respectfully. I had learned that lesson the hard way myself. Treat women with respect, or you may find yourself in an instant chokehold, slowly losing oxygen while attempting to beg for your life. Or maybe that was just me. One of the things one experiences when engaged to the Black Widow. 

I still wanted to keep an eye on these two though. Something about this whole thing wasn’t sitting well with me. I wished Natasha was here, but she was working on a super secret mission back in Russia. I had a feeling it had something to do with her family, but she chose not to tell me about it, and I respected that decision. For now I was on my own. 

I shifted my weight in my chosen tree perch close to Irene’s home. I really should ‘borrow’ some of those bugs from SHIELD to plant in the house so I could hear what they were saying, as well as watching them walk around. It would make my self appointed mission a bit easier. Yup. That is what I was going to do. Tomorrow. For now, I needed to get a bit of shut eye, even if it was only for a few hours. I leaned my head against a nearby tree branch, stretched out my legs on the one supporting my weight, and started to doze off. I was startled awake a few minutes later by a large crash coming from Irene’s residence. I quickly snapped into surveillance mode. I jumped out of the tree and quickly made my way over to the window with the best few of the living room. But I couldn’t see anything. I waited a few more minutes, then realized nothing more was happening, and no more noises could be heard. I returned to my tree to continue those few hours of sleep before the sun arose and woke me again.  
~~~~~  
~Irene’s POV~ We got back to the house later that evening, and I poured myself a glass of wine. The entire day had gone amazing. I could have almost have mistaken it for a really romantic date if I let myself, but I knew Loki was not intending it to be taken that way. I took the wine to my chair by the fireplace, sat down and relaxed my muscles while watching the flames dance around. I had always found fires to be very entertaining to watch. You never knew which directions each individual flame was going next. I always seemed to get lost whenever I watched fire, so I was not surprised when I was startled by Loki tapping me on the shoulder. 

“Sorry for scaring you. I wasn’t trying to” he said in a soft voice. “I hope you don’t mind me helping myself to a glass as well?” He mentioned to a glass of wine he had obviously poured for himself. 

“No of course I don’t mind. Apologies for not offering you one earlier.”

He sat down in a chair opposite and began watching the fire as well. “Hmm..” he said. 

“What?”

“Oh nothing. I was just thinking back to the last time I was sitting before a fire.”

“What happened?”

“I entertained some guests of ours. It was quite a great night”

“What did you do?” I was getting really curious now. 

He chuckled. “I played with the fire as only I can do best.”

I took another sip of wine. “Such as...how?”

“You wanna see?” That mischievous little kid look appeared on his face again. 

“How can I say no when you look at me like that?”

He grinned his large grin again, then turned his attention completely to the flames. I didn’t want to stop looking at his face, but I decided I wanted to watch what he was going to do with the fire. 

I looked at the fireplace, and to my surprise, the flames were taking shape. They were still connected to the logs, but the tops of the flames were in different shapes. There was one of a pony running across a green field, yes the fire actually had a green tint, but the horse had 8 legs which I thought was unusual. Then it changed to a shining city with tall spires, and then it went to a couple of children playing. It looked like there was going to be another picture, but it seemed to flicker, and then faded back to the normal appearance of fire. 

“What..” I trailed off turning towards him and saw the look on his face. He looked exhausted and almost to the point of collapse. 

“Loki what’s wrong?” I said suddenly very concerned about him. He looked as if he was dealing with a severe illness, but he seemed just fine a few minutes before!

“Oh I’m fine.” he seemed to shrug me off with a slight wave of his hand. Its just, I have used a lot of magic today, and doing that with the fire requires a significant amount. Apparently a bit more than I should have used. But I will be fine. I just need a drink of water or something..” He began to stand up, and ended up stumbling, almost falling on the floor. Fortunately I moved fast enough and propped him up enough to be able to maneuver him back into the chair. He did manage to knock my table lamp over breaking the bulb, creating a loud ruckus, and plunging the room into darkness, save the light from the fireplace. Rolling him off my back, his full weight came to rest in the chair. That action seemed to startle him and bring him out of his stupor a bit as his eyes became more open. 

“You sit here. I’ll grab you that glass of water.” I said, pausing to make sure he wasn’t going to attempt moving again before leaving for the kitchen. 

I returned with the water glass and placed it in his hand, making sure his fingers curled securely around it before letting go. He slowly raised it to his lips and took the smallest possible sip. His arm dropped back down to his side, and I grabbed the glass from him so it would not be in danger of spilling all over. Then I stood there, unsure at what to do next.

He opened his eyes and turned his head ever so slightly towards me. “Don’t worry about me. I just need to sit here and let it build back. Just have to...” His speech trailed off to a whisper where I couldn’t hear what he was saying. I moved over next to him and heard deep breathing and saw his eyes were closed. He was sound asleep. He looked so peaceful in his current state. He had a few beads of sweat hanging on his forehead from whatever was going on a few minutes ago, but he looked so peaceful otherwise. His mouth even hung open slightly which told me he really was fully asleep. 

I went to the kitchen and grabbed a small cloth and dampened it with cool water to cool down his forehead a bit. He felt like he was burning up. But I don’t know anything about how a god worked, so I would have to trust Loki when he said he was going to be fine after a bit of sleep. If not, then I would have to insist he tell me what else to do. As much as I hated to admit it, I disliked seeing him like this. All vulnerable and sickly looking. He shifted in the seat a bit, and his head rolled to the right and semi rested on his shoulder, which did not look comfortable at all. Fortunately he had sat in my reclining chair. I slowly pulled the lever back, tipping the chair so he would be in a position more comfortable to sleep in. Once that was done, I grabbed the fleece blanket he had draped over me previously, and laid it over him. I stood back and surveyed my work. Yup, he looked like a little boy all wrapped up. The thought made me smile. 

Since I had finished my read through of Pride and Prejudice, I decided to start another book. But there were so many I could begin, that I was unsure. I began perusing my shelves. My books were all sorted by author, then by series, if it was a series. If it was not a series, then the titles were alphabetical. I ran my finger over the spines of my best friends. Some of them I had read more often than others, and the books showed the wear. I considered it more character. It gave each one a personality, and a more concrete memory of the various times I had read the title. Jane Austen? No...George Orwell? No...Ted Dekker? No...Laurie King? No..William Shakespeare? I stopped. I hadn’t read any of his works in a while. I began looking at the individual titles, and finally chose Midsummer Nights Dream. I had always loved this one. If I had to choose a favourite character in this particular play, I would most likely say Puck. The mischievous fairy, the trickster. I smiled as my thoughts connected the similarity between Puck and Loki. 

I began reading the play, but whenever I read Puck, and about his antics, my mind changed it to Loki being the one playing the tricks on the unsuspecting victims, and changing Bottom into a donkey just for fun. 

Sometime while I was reading, I fell asleep with the book coming to rest on my chest.


	16. Chapter 16

I found myself in a large golden city that I automatically attributed as Asguard. I was dressed in finery that I could only dream of, elbow length emerald green gloves, a floor length dress of the same colour that hugged my legs, but slighty flared out at the bottom and had a bit of a train. They both seemed to be made out of satin. I was also wearing emerald green stiletto shoes with a large jewel on the top that was surrounded by smaller white gems. If I didn’t know better I would say it was a real emerald jewel surrounded by small diamonds. I was walking down what appeared to be a main street, towards the looming figure of the palace. Getting closer, I saw Loki was standing at the doorway, holding out his hand towards me in welcome. He too was dressed in finery which very much resembled the black suit he had been wearing earlier, but this version had much more gold woven into the fabric to where it seemed to shimmer. He also had a green and gold patterned scarf hung around his neck, and of course he was wearing his gold horned helmet. It made a very impressive figure. I got close enough to be able to hear what he was saying. But it seemed like he just kept whispering my name repeatedly. “Yes?” I answered, as I continued moving closer. His voice got louder, and then he began to almost yell “Irene. Irene wake up! Irene!” 

I opened my eyes, then quickly closed them again in an attempt to shield the blinding late afternoon light coming through my windows. “Irene. Wake up!” I turned my head towards the origin of the voice, whom I was guessing was Loki, and cautiously opened my eyes. Fortunately turning my head away from the window helped reduce the effect of sun blindness, and I was able to open my eyes enough to see what was going on. I found myself looking at Loki who was still sitting in the recliner right where I had left him the night before. Still tucked into the blanket I had wrapped around him even. I began to sit up, and felt the book I had been reading begin to slid off of my chest. I reached out and grabbed it just in time before it hit the ground and became damaged. Thank goodness for quick reflexes.

I placed the book gently on the nearby table after placing the bookmark, and moved closer to him. He looked much better than he did the previous night, even though he still looked a bit paler than I thought he should. His eyes even looked a bit dimmer than usual. Regardless, as I came up next to him, he flashed me a big grin.

“You look like you are feeling a bit better this morning.” I commented. “Want anything to eat or drink?” 

“Some more water would be greatly appreciated.” 

I handed him the full glass of water I had gotten for him the previous night. After drinking the entirety with seemingly no difficulty, I felt myself relax a bit and release the tension I was unknowingly holding. 

“I am not usually in the position to do so, so I am a bit rusty at this, but I wanted to say thank you for your kindness last night. I made a mistake of taking things a bit far, and put myself in an undesirable state. Most mortals would not have done what you did, and so for that, I thank you.”

“Well..You’re welcome, I suppose.”

“Do not expect for me to display such appreciation often.” He added quickly. 

I flashed him a small smirk but said nothing. I grabbed the Midsummer book up again, and opened it to where the bookmark. Problem was I wanted my morning tea as well as to continue reading. So I did both. I walked into the kitchen to start heating the water, all while continuing to soak in the story unfolding on the page. I continued this dual action process, granted I was moving as slow as a sloth, but I didn’t care. I was too wrapped up in the actions of Titania and her new lover Bottom to think on anything else at the moment. I was so wrapped up in the book, that on my way back to the armchair, I walked full force into the back of the said chair. The entire contents of the cup spilled down my leg and on my feet, as well as all over my arm and hand. Some got on my shirt, and a few drops also got on my book. “Shit! Damn it all!” I put the cup down with too much force, causing even more to spill out on to my hand and the table.

Loki began chuckling as he watched me jumping around trying to shake as much tea off myself as possible so it would stop burning my skin.

“You think this is funny? This isn’t funny! It hurts!!”

“Apologies, but you were so engrossed in your book, then chaos erupted.” A twinkle appeared in his eyes. “I love it when chaos happens. And now you are dancing like there are creatures crawling around your home! And it is something I find quite entertaining.”

“Well keep your entertainment to yourself.” Not attempting to hide the irritation in my voice. “If you will excuse me, I have to change before my skin begins to boil even more.”

I started walking towards my room to take a cool shower and to change. Of course that meant walking right past where Loki was still sitting. He had pulled back the blanket at this point and returned the chair upright. When I was almost out of reach from him, he reached out and lightly grabbed my wrist. I could feel his icy cold skin conflict with the forming burns on my arm. 

“I can help you more than a shower would dear. Come closer.” 

I wearily turned towards him. Can’t hurt I suppose, I thought as I turned around and stepped closer. 

He chuckled, “Nope it won’t hurt. Just stand still for a moment.”

Get out of my head you creep, I thought. 

“I am not a creep.” He voiced. “And if you don’t want me listening, all you have to do is keep me out.” He looked right at me and smirked. 

I sighed loudly as if this was a large imposition on my part, then gave him a smirk to make sure he knew I was playing around with him. 

He began lightly dragging his fingers along the burned areas on my arms that were beginning to turn a bright shade of red. I suppose the colour made his job a bit easier by declaring where the injured areas were. It felt like an ice cube was being dragged across my skin, which normally would have been unconfortably cold, but on the burns, it felt fantastic. 

He continued his work, concentrating to the point where his brow furrowed up. It was kind of cute. No! I yelled at myself. It didn’t matter that he had been being super sweet to me the last couple of days. He was still a god. A master of deceit, and lies. For all I knew his actions towards me from the beginning have been nothing but an attempt at getting me to agree to his plan. The only thing that changed, was a change in tactics. The full force god act didn’t work, so now he was playing the sweetheart card and showing me his ‘soft’ side. It shouldn’t hurt to come to that conclusion but it did. Especially since it reminded me a bit too much of what happened between Sherlock and I. 

I was wrapped up in my thoughts so much, that I almost didn’t realize he had stopped and was now looking up into my eyes with a concerned look on his face. I noticed the burns had ceased to throb, and actually didn’t seem to be hurting at all. 

“Um..Thanks. I’m going to go change now.” I said not meeting his gaze.

I quickly walked away, not wanting to look back at him as it felt like a piece of me was being torn apart. I hated feeling this way. I did my best to build defenses against this kind of thing, because emotions only got in the way and made you vulnerable. 

He has got to be playing me, I thought. There is no way he could actually be feeling this way towards me. The more I thought about it, the more I was sure that was the case. And it hurt. I couldn’t believe I was so stupid for falling for someone was a chronic liar.

I ended up taking that shower even after Loki cooled my burns, but this time it was mostly for the purpose of collecting my thoughts and calming myself down, so my eyes were not red and puffy when I came out.

Now, what to wear today. I selected a tight mid-thigh length dress with quarter length sleeves. Then I pinned my hair up like I usually did when I actually cared about how I looked, and applied some makeup. Mostly to hide my eyes, which despite my best efforts, had become a bit puffy. 35 minutes later, I exited the room to see Loki still sitting in the chair looking like he hadn’t moved at all, except for the fact he was reading Midsummer Nights Dream. 

I looked at my wall clock and saw I would have enough time to grab a bite to eat, pick up a few groceries, and still catch the movie I had been wanting to see. I strapped on my black stilettos, pulled my purse strap over my shoulder and was about to open the door. 

“This Puck character is very fascinating. I cannot believe I have not had the pleasure of this story before.”

I sighed and hung my head a bit. He wanted to converse now? I really didn’t want to talk to him. It didn’t matter if my imagined situation between us was just that, imagined. It seemed like a valid reality and that reality hurt. I didn’t trust myself to look in his eyes without beginning to cry again. But I was curious to know what he thought about the play as it was one of my favourites. 

I pulled my purse up further on my shoulder with a determination and walked back into the living area. He physically appeared to be back to normal now. His colour had returned to his face, and his eyes had a sparkle back to them. That thought reassured me to some extent. 

“What were you saying about Puck?” I asked standing in front of him, but avoiding looking at him directly. 

He looked up from the book, and seemingly noticed my attire. 

“Are you going somewhere?” he asked as if he was wondering why I would even think of such a thing. 

“Yes I have some errands to run, then I am going to enjoy a picture at the cinema. I do have a life you know.”

He kept trying to catch my eye, and talk to me directly, but I would keep looking away. So I grabbed my makeup mirror from my purse and feigned checking my hair and my makeup. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing” I replied not looking up from my makeup check.

“You realize I could just read your mind and find out what is bothering you with less difficulty...”

“Then go ahead,” I said cutting him off. I was getting a bit upset now because I didn’t want to be talking to him anymore. “I really could care less at this point. I don’t care what you do here while I am gone, just don’t destroy anything. I should be back later on this evening.” 

“Clearly something happened that caused you to become upset with me. I would like to know what that is, to be able to remedy the situation.”

“Well you can’t.” I snapped the makeup mirror closed, and looked directly at him which felt like the first time that day. “Not everything is a game that you can win or lose. This is my life and my emotions that you can’t just toy with because you are bored. Now if you will excuse me, I must be off as I am already behind schedule.” 

I walked off, exited through my front door, and climbed in my car. And that is when I lost it. I completely broke down and began sobbing. Why do these things keep happening to me? What did I ever do?


	17. Chapter 17

~Hawkeye POV~

I was still keeping an eye on the place even though nothing interesting had happened since the crash the night before. I was beginning to get bored. Maybe Fury was right about the whole thing, and there was nothing valid about this claim regarding Loki’s plans to reign destruction upon this land again. Then I heard it. Sounds of an argument coming from the other side of the window I was closest to. All I could hear was the female, Irene, so possibly she was the only one in distress. At least I hoped so. Loki was unpredictable under distress. I had caught a glimpse of Loki when he was angry once, and it scared me a bit. And I was the one carrying explosive arrows around. 

The next thing I heard was the front door slamming shut, then a car door opening and slamming. Then silence. I decided it was probably safe to leave my perch and see what was happening. I crept around the side of the home, and saw the car still sitting in the driveway with Irene sitting in the drivers seat. Her head was resting on the steering wheel, and her face was covered by her hands. She seemed to be sobbing. My suspicions were confirmed when she uncovered her face, wiping tears from her cheeks. 

What is going on here? I asked myself as she started the car and backed slowly out of the driveway. I ducked behind a nearby bush in order to avoid detection. 

I was in conflict now. Should I tell Fury or anyone for that matter what happened? All I knew for certain was what I saw first hand. Who knows what Loki could have done, or was doing to her without my knowledge. I knew firsthand he could to put people under mind control and make them his puppets, but her crying in the car didn’t seem in line with the mind control theory. Maybe he was playing an intellectual game? Continually wearing her down in that sense so she succumbed to what he wanted? Or maybe it was more an emotional game? Tosh would kill me for even thinking this but I knew that females tended to be more emotional than men, and therefore these emotions could easily be toyed with. Or it could be a combination of a number of other things. I don’t know. I shook my head in my momentary failure to understand the situation. 

I did know one thing. I was going to continue keeping an eye on things until I saw something more concrete, or at least something important enough to tell Fury about. I didn’t really want to open a can of worms if it was going to turn out empty. 

I looked through a few windows around the house to see if I could locate Loki, but to no avail. Since she was gone, he could very well have transported himself anywhere he chose. But I wasn’t going to dwell on that point right now. I was going to be vigilant, and do what I do best, keep a close watch. But I could do this better from a height. I always saw better from a height. I never understood why, but it was something I accepted about myself, and it ended up coming in handy when I discovered my skills as an archer. 

I was asked once what my favourite types of arrows were, and I had to answer with the ones that exploded. They looked just like regular arrows, until you gave them a few seconds. Then kablamo! Always took the bad guys by surprise. Most were surprised when I additionally mentioned I also was responsible in the creation of the arrows. Not many people realized there was a highly intelligent brain behind these hawk-like eyes. But that was ok with me. I would rather be underestimated and then surprise them in the end.


	18. Chapter 18

I was finally back home after the different errands and the trip at the cinema, except I wasn’t ready to go back inside. I didn’t know what would await me, and I strongly disliked uncertainty. Not that I thought my house or belongings would be ruined, but I was not looking forward to the potential emotional distress that could be caused by simply crossing the threshold. 

“Might as well get this over with,” I said into the atmosphere as I grabbed the few grocery bags I had collected as well as my purse, and climbed out of the car. Once at the front door, I paused for a deep breath and walked in, only to find the house completely dark and empty. 

I wasn't really sure what I expected, but it was different than this. 

Whatever I thought. If he is gone, then good riddance. I plopped everything in my arms on the countertop and decided I was going to enjoy a bubble bath and finish Midsummer in the process. 

And so thusly I found myself a few minutes later surrounded by scented candles, providing just enough light to read by, just the right amount of scented bubbles, and a glass of wine sitting on the side of the tub. I could feel my muscles individually relaxing, all the emotional stress over the last few days, being washed away. I picked up the book, and turned to the page with the tea spots splashed over the face. 

At least I don’t have to search for my spot this time I thought with a bit of annoyance. Oh well, maybe one day I will look back on this whole thing and laugh, but right now I was not going to think about it. I was spending time with myself, and the characters in this book. No Loki, no further distractions, no emotions crowding my thoughts, just me, the enchanted woods, and the characters that only Shakespeare can create. 

About 30 minutes later, the bath water began to get too cold for comfort, and I decided it was time to get out, and finish the final act curled up by the fire. 

I dried off, wrapped my plush towel around myself, and took my book out to the living room. 

“How far did you get in the…” I stopped short as I saw that the armchair Loki had previously occupied was still empty. 

I sighed shaking my head at my own stupidity. No, I did not miss him in the least, I had just grown a bit accustomed to him, that is all. I sat down heavily in the chair to finish the play. 

I closed the book not long after, closing the book and reflecting on the last passage spoken by Puck, one of my favourites in the entirety of the play. 

If we shadows have offended,  
Think but this, and all is mended,   
That you have but slumber'd here   
While these visions did appear.   
And this weak and idle theme,   
No more yielding but a dream,  
Gentles, do not reprehend:   
if you pardon, we will mend:   
And, as I am an honest Puck,   
If we have unearned luck   
Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue,   
We will make amends ere long;   
Else the Puck a liar call; S  
o, good night unto you all.   
Give me your hands, if we be friends,   
And Robin shall restore amends 

I had always loved that passage, and often used it it in various lines from it in life. If I was having a bad day, then I would tell myself it was “but a dream” then would somehow feel better about the whole thing. Another line I often used from Shakespeare was “All the world a stage and all the men and women merely players” It made me feel as if I had some part to play in the grand scheme of things. Especially when I was feeling very small and insignificant. Such as now. 

I loved feeling like I was a part of something. I had that feeling when I contributed detective insight, and espionage with Sherlock, and employed very similar skills when I worked with Moriarty, even if it was for a more sinister motive. But in each case I was an essential cog in the clock, a corner piece in the big puzzle. I had a glimpse of the same thing beginning to happen with Loki as well, but then saw the grains of sand that were beginning to form a sculpture, fall through my fingers and float away. 

Now I was feeling even more down than I was a few minutes ago. Maybe I should read Shakespeare again, to get my spirits back? I laughed at myself. Just my luck I would end up reading something like Macbeth, or Hamlet. Actually that didn’t sound too bad now that I thought about it. I looked at the clock and saw it was almost 1am. I didn’t think I was sitting here that long! I should go to bed. I have the hair appointment with Bob tomorrow. I am still not sure what colour and cut to get. I was going to go with Loki’s idea, but now I wasn’t so sure. 

I will decide that in the morning, I thought Right now, I needed to go to bed, as I was all of a sudden feeling really tired.


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning I was walking into the salon Bob worked at. He planned on owning his own place one day, but was still saving every penny he could to get there. At one point I thought of helping him at least acquire the building, but when I mentioned it to him he flat out refused. He wanted to feel he had earned his own way. I reluctantly agreed, but now I came to see him as often as I could, and usually slipped an extra tip where he would find it later. 

“Irene!” I heard as I walked up to the front desk area. “How is my favourite girl doing today?” I turned toward him and welcomed his enveloping hug. Bob was, what I would describe as, a stick man. There was nothing but skin and bones on this man clothed with a colourful plaid shirt, skinny jeans, and, today at least a bright blue pair of converse shoes. He had short cut hair, that he had spiked with a fruity smelling gel, and the only facial hair he sported was a soul patch. I had told him before he would look better without it, but he said it gave him a mark of distinction. 

“Bob! I am doing fantastic, now that I am here, of course!” I said grinning widely. I honestly was always very glad to see him. He enveloped me in a hug, and I asked a bit muffled, “How has the best hair stylist in the world been doing?” 

“Oh pshaw, I am hardly the best. You flatter me way too much.” He stopped and held me at arms length. 

“What have you been doing girl? You look horrendous! Looks like you called me just in time. You realize this is going to take a good deal of time to get you looking your best again, right? I might be a miracle worker, but honey I am not a fairy godmother” he said smirking and making sure I knew he was joking. 

I laughed. “You can take as much time as you need. I am in no hurry. Absolutely nothing else has to be done today.”

“Oh good. Now…” he placed his arm around my shoulders and guided me to what he called ‘his office’ or his ‘chamber of magic’ though I told him to never call it that again as it made him sound like a pimp. “What type of look are we going for today? Old lady? Asian lady? Mexican? A man?” He lowered his voice and donned a very serious face for the last one and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh dear. No nothing like that. Actually my request is simple today. I want to cut it shoulder length with slight layers, and to also colour it.”

“That will look fantastic. What colour were you thinking?” He stepped back a bit and placed a finger on his lips as he thought through how the finished product would look. 

“Well, I am not sure if you can do it..” Bob looked at me in a way that said ‘are you really challenging my skills?’ I smiled and continued “I was going to go raven black, with a bit of green and gold highlights.”

He put his fingertips to his lips. “Hmm..yes. Yes I can make that work. Interesting choice, but hey you are the one paying for it. I am your personal genie.” He crossed his arms and lowered his voice again, as well as put on the worst arabian accent possible. “I hear and obey!” 

I laughed again as I sat down in the salon chair. I could always trust Bob to make me laugh no matter what mood I was in when I walked in. 

Through the whole process we participated in a bit of small talk. We never did much more, as he seemed to grasp the idea that I couldn’t tell him much even if he did ask. Roughly three hours later, he stood back, surveying his work. 

“Darling, I think you are done.” He punctuated those words with straightening of a few stray hairs. 

He spun me around, so I could look in the mirror. I looked like a completely different person. He had almost exactly recreated what Loki had done before. Not exactly of course as he was using hair dye, and Loki used magic, but I knew Bob would be the only one to come close. He had even dyed my eyebrows raven black with a slight hint of gold. 

“Wow! Bob this is...Wow!”

“Better than you imagined? Done through the use of miracles? I must have sold my soul to the devil to be this good? I can keep going I have more.”

I playfully elbowed him in the stomach, and of course being the huge drama queen he was, he doubled over and fell on the floor as if I had power kicked him in the solar plexus. “I’m down! I’ve been hit! I will never be able to breathe correctly again!” 

As soon as he fell over, I began laughing again, but now was doubled over had tears forming. 

“You have destroyed my career. I will have to resign to the fact I am an invalid for life now. I hope you’re happy!” he said with a pained expression. 

I offered my hand to him and did the best I could to help him off the floor despite my body still being racked with laughter. 

“Me kill you? I think you are closer to killing me than the other way around. My stomach and lungs are about to burst right now! You should have become a comedian instead of a hair stylist.”

“Then I would have never met you my gorgeous creation, and besides, I meet much more interesting people in this line of work than I ever would if I stood up on stage night after night” 

I brushed a few pieces of hair off his shirt that clung to him from rolling on the floor.

“This is very true. I am glad I met you Bob.”

“I am glad you met me too. Now, I used a bit of a different product today to get the gold effect just right. So you will have to take care of it differently.” He handed me a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. This will help keep the shimmer a bit longer than anything else. I would rotate use. Do you still have the stuff I gave you last time?”

“Yes of course I do. Whenever I run out, I order more. I know if I don’t keep using it, then you will kill me.”

“Yo got that right sista!” he said with a snap of his fingers and a wobble to his head. 

“I had better go before you kill me completely. If I want to keep this look, then when should I be back in?” 

“Keep it? You never keep the same look for longer than a month! Is there something going on? I know you do things that you will never tell me about and I respect that, but if you need to talk to someone, I promise to offer a listening ear, but not a shoulder to cry on. I can’t have dried tears on my shirts.”

I gave him a hug. “Thanks. That means a lot to me. But I’ll be fine. Just trying to figure out what the next scene is in the play titled Irene’s Life.”

“All the worlds a stage, right?” he said with a smirk.

“Yup,” I said smiling. “Well I had better be off. I am sure you have other clients to get to today.” 

“You know where I am if you need me!”

“Thanks Bob!”

I got in my car and drove back to my house. I decided I was going to purposely sit down and think about what to do with the Loki situation. I knew he had not gone away for good. Probably just giving me a chance to regain myself and put my thoughts back in order. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to react when I saw him again for I was still a bit put off from the whole thing. I hated being manipulated, especially when I didn’t figure out they were doing so. 

I walked in my home and shut the door behind me. 

“You finally got your hair done? I like it. It looks..ravishing” Loki appeared behind me and holding a bit of my hair between his fingers. 

“I don’t want to talk to you right now. Please leave me alone.”

I moved away from him and quickly went to my room closing the door behind myself. I slid down the back of the door, and leaned against it, laying my head on my knees. I wasn’t crying, nor did I feel like doing so. I just wanted distance from Loki, the current source of my problems. And think, I needed time to process, to decide what direction I was going to take this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Bob is my favourite character to write at this point. He is very much based off of my gay best friend. Let me know what you think! I do have the other chapters written already, but I might edit them to add more interaction with Bob :)


	20. Chapter 20

i looked at my reflection in the mirror. I did really like this look. It made my skin appear far fairer than it actually was. Some women I know would not appreciate that effect, but for me it worked. 

Turning away from the mirror, I walked over to my bed and crawled under the covers. I wasn’t tired in the least, but I sought the comfort my bed provided, and I did some of my best thinking while in this spot. I snuggled deeper into the bed, pulling the blankets up to my eyes. Now that I was comfortable, I could start processing. 

Starting at the beginning, I thought about where my life was before Loki. It was honestly very plain and simple. I did a variety of activities throughout the day that required me to get out of the house, then came home at night to a glass of wine, and possibly a few chapters of a book before falling asleep to do it all again the very next day. I didn’t really even take weekends off, as I felt out of routine when I did so. But then Loki arrived and my entire paradigm had to shift. He was new, and exciting, and a bit scary at times, but I loved it. I loved the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen next. To be completely honest with myself, how could you not begin to fall in love with a man like that, even if it was only on the level of infatuation? He was an intimidating figure, he knew how to get what he wanted, he was very driven, stubborn, and I suppose you could say he was a bit handsome.

I really did want to help him, it is not like I had anything to lose anyway. My life was a mess. It would be nice to have some actual purpose for my day when I got out of bed. I missed that feeling. A reason to jump out of bed and hit the floor running.

Was this me making a decision? I wasn’t quite sure yet. I should sit on those thoughts for a bit longer and see if anything changes. Besides, my eyelids were beginning to close of their own accord, so I succumbed and drifted off and dreamt of a pair of green eyes watching over me. 

~Loki POV~  
I had to come up with a different strategy. The scary all powerful god wasn’t working, and the boyfriend act had simply caused her female emotions to take full force. Apparently I was not that great at convincing one of similar intellect to follow me in my plans. I usually did this sort of thing on beings of little intelligence, and it worked quite well. But with Irene, I would have to try something else. She saw through what i was attempting to do, and in her own pathetic way, attempted to gain the upper hand. Maybe I needed to give her time to herself, time for her to process what was happening. I did notice she had taken my advice regarding her hair. It became her. Maybe that was an indication she was beginning to lean towards helping me. Either way, I was going to try the strategy of simply staying out of her way, and letting her come around to me. 

~Hawkeye POV~  
I saw the lady return to the house looking like she had changed her look a bit. I can honestly say it looked very nice on her. Not that she didn’t look pretty before, though not as pretty as Natasha mind you, but still pretty. I couldn’t put a handle on what her hair reminded me of. It would probably come to me later. Still nothing as of yet that seemed worthy enough to take to the rest of the group. Man, how I wish Natasha was here. She would know exactly what to do, and she was better at talking to females than I was. I wouldn’t have even been able to develop a relationship with her if she didn’t take the lead. I would turn into a young school boy stumbling over my words and saying things like ‘My Clint name is hi, what is pretty...your name?.’ Without her it felt like I was missing my extra quiver of arrows. I had heard from her recently, and it sounded like she was finishing up her mission in Russia. At least that is what I gathered. She was having to use code which she and I had invented in case the call was being monitored. Some of the guys said I was whipped, but I didn’t see it that way. I was perfectly capable of standing on my own two feet, but I would rather be doing said standing when I knew she was right there next to me. Ultimately, I just wanted to know she was safe, and have the ability to protect her if the need arose. 

I shifted a bit on my branch, and continued to keep watch over the residence. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.


	21. Chapter 21

I woke up and realized it was dark outside. I looked at the clock seeing that the time read 11:32 pm. “There goes my entire sleep pattern,”I grumbled. I rolled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I saw the carefully styled hair Bob had left me with was now a mess. “Sorry Bob” I whispered as I grabbed a brush to make it more presentable. 

I tied my light pink silk bathrobe around my waist and took a deep breath. I realized I needed to talk to Loki, sooner rather than later. My mindset had not changed from my discussion with myself the previous night. And now I needed to sit down with him and have a bit of a face to face. 

I opened my door slowly, and walked out. I saw him sitting in the armchair, that apparently he had decided was his favourite one in the entirety of the house. I crossed my arms and softly walked over to him. He had turned the chair so it was facing towards the window, away from me. 

I quickly decided to pull a sneak attack on him and attempt to return the favour. I stood up on tiptoes, and slowly moved towards the chair. Once I got close enough, I reached out my hand intending to tap him on the shoulder. 

"And what were you exactly planning on doing?" 

I froze where I stood. How did he do that? 

"You forget, my dear, that I am a god. One of the advantages of such a status, is having exceptional hearing. And you were breathing loud enough I could have killed you about five minutes ago if I really wanted to."

I moved around so I was facing him, dragging a small footstool with me. I placed the stool kiddy corner to where he was looking and sat down. 

Silence reigned. I could have heard a pin drop. I didn’t even know where I ought to be looking, so I elected for the direct approach and attempted to stare into his very soul. Apparently the silence nor the staring bothered Loki, for he didn’t even shift in his chair, but I became very uncomfortable, very quickly. I broke the silence when I couldn’t take it anymore. 

“So...” I began with extreme hesitation in my voice “Are you still keen on the whole, take over the world plot?”

Loki seemed to come out of a sort of reverie and turned his head slowly towards me. His forehead had a small crinkle and I noticed that his eyes had no shine to them at all. They looked almost dead. “I have never stopped being “keen”. It has never ceased to be my intention. My only qualm was whether or not you would be a part of it.”

“Well I was not that happy with the various psychological manipulations you were choosing to employ, but you seem to have mellowed out a bit, or at least accepted the fact that I am not going to play your mind games,” I said with a bit of a bite to my tone and scowling at him.

The uncomfortable silence reemerged, for a brief moment, except this time, Loki was the one doing the staring. I met his gaze for a brief moment and had to look away, deciding to continue. 

“With that being said, I have decided to help you in at least getting this plan off the ground. However, I have one condition. Whatever ends up happening, you have to promise me that none of my friends are going to get hurt in the process”

“I do swear this to you. Now!” He exclaimed jumping from his seat. “Have you at all thought about how to execute this plan?” The twinkle was now back to his eyes, he was excited, and it was contageous. 

“I havn’t thought about it too extensively, however I am still thinking about the idea of visiting Disney World, and beginning there You could blend in, initially, and begin working your way into their system before they suspect anything. Especially if you wore your entire outfit. You would fit right in with all the other people in costumes. Yeah yeah, ‘mine isn’t a costume, it is highly thought out battle armor’ but here on earth it looks like a costume, and that is what every person that sees you will think.” I stopped to look at him and gauge his expression. 

“I think that is a brilliant idea! This is why I knew I needed you, for I do not know of things such as this Disney World. When do you propose we start this endeavor?”

He was now perched on the arm of the chair like a bird on a perch and I couldn’t help but laugh, though I tried to stifle it. I would never have thought I would see a god place himself in such a position, especially in front of a mortal. 

He saw me attempting to contain my laughter, and he contorted his face in a quizzical manner, which tipped me right over the edge. I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard, I fell off the stool, and curled up in a ball on the floor, holding my stomach as it began to hurt after a few moments. 

“I understand my actions might have been a source of amusement, but I am not sure why you continue in this manner.” Loki said with an edge of concern. 

Through my laughter, I managed to say “I am not sure! I just can’t stop laughing!” I took a deep breath trying to regain control of my body functions. 

After a few minutes, I was able to calm myself down, and my breathing returned to normal. I wiped the tears from my eyes that had formed and had even ran down my cheeks. It had been a while since I had laughed that hard. The last time I laughed that happened was when I was talking with Sherlock about a year ago. He had paid me a visit with Watson. We were talking and having a great time hanging out and enjoying one another's company, but then Watson asked me if I had seen Sherlock’s new hat. “You have a new hat?” I asked. 

“I thought I told you not to ever mention that again, Watson” Sherlock looked at John out of the corner of his narrowed eyes. 

“Oh but my dear Sherlock! Don’t you think your close friend, Irene would want to know about your new direction in life as far as fashion is concerned,” he said, the humor apparent.

“Watson...” Sherlock began with a bit of warning in his voice. 

“Oh lets indulge the apparent joy that is this new head gear and ignore the spoil sport.” I interjected, cutting off the rest of whatever Sherlock was going to say. 

I walked over next to John, and he pulled the latest copy of the Times out of his jacket pocket. 

“It is right on the front cover, complete with a write up of Sherlock’s latest detective achievements.” 

I leaned over to get a better look at this infamous picture. And then I saw it. Sherlock looking very surly indeed wearing a collared jacket with the collar turned up, and on his head was a plaid deerstalker cap. 

I tried not to laugh, I really did. But then Sherlock looked at me and Watson and agitatedly said “I just don’t see the point of it? It has ear flaps, and I can’t decide if it is a hat or a frisbee!”

Then I lost it. I started laughing so hard I fell backwards off the chair, onto the floor. 

Sherlock just made it worse when he told me to stop laughing, and Watson didn’t help at all when he started chuckling right along with me. 

My eyes began to water as I continued laughing. I soon stopped, and was wiping my eyes when I noticed Sherlock was now standing over top of me and looking down in disapproval. 

Without changing expression, he simply commented “You’re leaking.”

And that set me off again. 

I came out of my flashback, as I realized Loki was now doing something very similar. Standing over top of me, and had a look of almost concern, but there was definitely a bit of disapproval mixed with a bit of confusion. 

“What are you doing on the floor? Are you never going to get up?” He looked as if he was questioning what the social protocol was for such a situation, but came up with none. 

“Can you help me up?” I said raising my eyebrow up at him, and extending my hand upwards toward him. 

“I suppose that is acceptable. It is not dignified for one to be rolling on the floor.” He reached his hand down and met mine, grasping it firmly and lifting me easily off the ground. I hardly had to exert any effort, and I was standing upright. 

“So,” I said, “When are we going to Disney World?” I smiled up at him, and he flashed one of his infamous smirks back at me.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know this one is short, but the next one is longer to make up for it.

~Hawkeye POV~  
I had managed to get one of the transmitters inside the lady's residence, which would hopefully make my self-appointed mission easier. I am temporarily borrowing it from my buddy Tony. No, he doesn't know I have it, but he isn't going to miss it with the hundreds of other gadgets he has. 

So far it had already proven invaluable. I was able to take shelter from the rain that occurred the previous evening, and continue to hear and understand what they were saying without attempting to read their lips and potentially getting it wrong. I was decent at reading lips, but when I thought they were discussing mashed potatoes covered in ketchup, that is when I knew I had to get a bug in there and soon. Which is how I found myself breaking into Tony's lab using his skylight as my entry point. Of course Jarvis noticed me, but after I briefly explained my situation, he actually helped. 

He showed me where the "junk" drawer containing various small equipment pieces were stored, and also directed me towards a back door which could be used instead of scaling back up to the roof. 

Which brought me back to the current situation. I had been dozing in and out, getting a few minutes of sleep here and there with the receiver end of the bug sitting loosely in my ear. I was woken up suddenly by sounds of hysterical laughing. I straightened up and listened intently. From what I could make out, obviously something really funny had happened, which had Irene convulsing in laughter. Then everything grew quiet, a few words were exchanged, then Irene asked “When are we going to Disney World?” 

“Gotcha” I said in a quiet whisper. Now I had at least something concrete I could take to Director Fury. Whatever the plan was, it involved the place known as Disney World. To be honest, it made me uneasy, with the thousands, pushing millions of visitors that went through the gates, daily. And if that is where Loki was going to make his stand...

This could get ugly. It was getting bigger than I could handle. Even though I really didn’t want to, I would have to leave my position in order to hopefully save lives, though it could mean missing out on potentially vital information. 

Sacrifices have to occasionally be made on a personal level for the sake of the many I told myself. 

I gathered my bow and quiver and leapt out my tree. I landed hard, as it was a significant drop and threw a quick glance back up. I always grew a sense of attachment to the good scouting positions I lived in for several hours or more. I reached out and lovingly patted the bark. "Be good. Live long and prosper.” 

With that I began sprinting down the street, covered with the inky veil of darkness.


	23. Chapter 23

Over the next few days, Loki and I began planning what was going to happen at our Disney Extravaganza which is what I was choosing to call it. Loki didn't approve of the naming convention, but I didn't care. I was going to call it whatever I wanted to. And besides, being that I had somehow ended up with planning almost all the details, I figured I could call it whatever I wanted. He always said something about the planning aspect being below his level. At least I would have intimate knowledge of the details and would not encounter any surprises. 

The days flew by, and before I knew it, it had been over a week since my ‘turning point’ with Loki. My phone had rung a few times, and messages were left by some investigators and officers, asking where I was, and if I was alright. I even saw a call from John Watson come through, but no voicemail was left. I had thought I had seen a few different men, who were attempting to be inconspicuous hanging around outside my place. They appeared to be sent from Mycroft to most likely keep an eye on me. Maybe Sherlock was actually showing some amount of concern about someone, namely me, for once and contacted his brother. 

I didn’t really care about peoples motives for once in a great while. I was engulfed in my current quest. I rarely thought about life outside of the ultimate goal. A few days I almost forgot to eat, or go to bed, but Loki would make sure I had a plate of food in front of me. He would also inform me when it was time to depart to bed if it looked like I had no intention of turning in anytime soon. This side of him surprised me a bit, these seeming random acts of kindness, but for all I knew it could just be him making sure I kept working without missing anything vital, especially if it was his life and freedom on the line. Yes of course I had calculated all the risks involved. Several times in fact. There were a bit too many for my comfort, but when I brought that fact to Loki’s attention, he just waved me off and returned to reading his latest choice from my bookshelf. Him not being worried, somehow worried me more. I wasn’t sure why, but when the range of potential things happening went from me being arrested, one of us getting injured to any amount of severity, to who knows what would happen if Thor got involved it was worrying. I had read up a bit on him as well, and he appeared very hard headed. Maybe it was a family trait. 

I was honestly glad I had decided to go ahead with this plan. I felt useful, needed, and valued. It had also been a while since I had something to invest this much of myself into. I didn’t even think I enjoyed my consulting job as I currently enjoyed laying out maps, planning the intricate itinerary, costumes, vantage points, actions, locations, props, and scripts. I still had yet to show everything to Loki and to hopefully gain his approval of the whole thing, but I wasn’t that worried. I figured he would just want to know the bare facts, and let me worry about the rest. 

Today was another potentially long day. I had not slept much due to ideas continuing to run through my head. Loki had recently given me a deadline. He wanted to be running the entire Orlando area, by the time our “Midguardian Christmas” rolled around. Which gave me just over a few months. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pull it off. I shook my head, of course I wasn’t, this whole thing was an insane endeavor, right? Loki had been gone for the last few hours. I didn’t know where he had gone, nor did I really care. As long as I didn’t hear a report on the night news report about some freak accident happening that caused panic, disaster and death, then why should I care? I was not his keeper, nor did I choose to be. I decided to take a break, as obviously the stress was getting to me. I grabbed the book Loki had been reading earlier, and began reading, but not really comprehending the words. 

Twenty minutes later, I was startled by a light rapping on my window. I looked up from the book, and peered out the window, seeing nothing that could have made that noise. 

“I am loosing my mind.” I stretched in my seat, and looked at the clock on the wall. 3:37pm. 

I stood up and walked to the kitchen to put together a quick bite to eat. Loki had begun to keep track of how much food was in my kitchen and then use that to determine if, and how much I had eaten during the course of the day. It irritated me to my very core. But nor wanting to see his angry side, I have begun forcing myself to eat at least something. So here I was, making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I plopped myself back on the couch and took a bite of the sandwich. I chewed it with no enthusiasm, when I heard the rapping on my window again. 

My sandwich was quickly forgotten as I swallowed what was in my mouth, and ran over to the window and look out. Seeing nothing again, I turned to sit back down, and gave out a bloodcurling scream. A face appeared on the outside of my window right at where my face had been out seconds before. Just as quick as it had appeared, it was gone. 

“What the hell was that!!” My food and my plans for the day were now completely forgotten, as I slipped on a pair of shoes and ran out the door. This was probably the most stupid thing I could be doing, chasing after what, or whomever that thing was. For all I knew it was a murderer attempting to lure me outside. If that was what they wanted, then it worked. I ran around to the window where the face had appeared, and nothing was there. 

I looked at the grass by the window, and used my deductive skills that I picked up with my time working Sherlock. Based on the indentations in the grass, I could tell that someone had been there. Appeared as if they had been standing in one position, then possibly kneeling for a while in addition. I searched for anything further, but came up short. They either covered up their tracks, or didn’t leave any in the first place. 

“Damn. Now what? Am I really going crazy? What did Sherlock tell me again? ‘Rule out the improbable, and whatever is left, however impossible must be the truth.’ It is improbable that I am going crazy, so there must have actually been someone there. But where did they go, and what do they want with me? What was the point of scaring me half to death?”

I walked around a bit more, seeing if there was anything else I could find. After ten minutes, I decided it was fruitless. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Now I was frustrated. I looked around, and realized I had traveled a bit of distance away from my house now, so I began to head back. Just when I came back in sight of the house, out of a nearby tree, I heard a loud noise rustling about in the branches. I stopped and peered up in the branches, and stifled a scream. I would have followed through too, if the creature hadn’t jumped down, and placed his hand over my mouth and muffled my voice. 

‘Quiet! I don’t want to attract attention! Now I am going to remove my hand, but you must promise to not scream. And please don’t run away. I am a friend, and merely wish to talk to you. Do you understand?”

I nodded slowly. He removed his hand and turned to face me. For the first time, I saw his face clearly. He was handsome, but in a rugged sort of manner. He was dressed as an archer, complete with gloves, a quiver on his back that was almost empty, and a collapsible bow attached to his back in some fashion. 

“Now,” he began, “Like I said I am a friend. Some call me Hawkeye, but if you prefer, you can call me by my given name of Clint. I am not sure if you have heard of the Avengers initiative with having worked closely with Sherlock and us having attempted to recruit him to our cause.” 

He must have seen me looking very lost regarding the entire situation. 

“Sorry, I’ll keep it short. The reason why I am here, is because, as you know Loki has returned to Earth, and from what I understand is planning on enforcing his rule upon more citizens. And I believe he has you closely involved.” He looked at me, waiting for me to respond.

“Yes I do acknowledge all that you have so far told me. I know not of the Avengers group that you speak of, but yes, Loki has involved me in the plan of his. What concern of yours is it? Are my personal matters and the people I choose to hang out with not of my own choosing?” 

Yes, I was getting snippy with him, but the air was beginning to grow cold, and the sun was quickly setting. I didn’t want to be out here longer than I needed to be, and the fact that this Clint character was not getting to his point quickly was starting to drive me crazy. 

“Will you please get to the point Mr. Clint?” I wrapped my arms around myself, in an attempt to keep my body temperature from falling too quickly. 

“Right. I have recently spoken to my Director Nick Fury, and while he has yet to see the potential harm that Loki can cause to cities as a whole, and to people that have become close to him, I have seen it first hand.”

He began to take off the forearm piece from his left arm. He slid it off completely, and underneath I saw red, vein like scars covering the underside of his arm. 

“What happened to you?” I said with the shock of what he was showing me apparent in my voice. 

“This is what happened last time I had a run in with Loki. He placed me under mind control. I did his bidding like I was his own personal puppet. No matter how hard I attempted to fight against it, it was no use. I found out later, that with the magic he used, and the force I was attempting to exert to break free, it was beginning to poison me. The resident science nerds of our group, Bruce and Tony, attempted to find something to cure me completely, but have so far only found a way to stop the spread and contain it to right here on my arm. I carry it around everyday as a reminder of what he is capable of doing.”

He put the piece back on his arm and continued, “So when I saw he had enlisted you in his plan, I became worried for your well being. And that’s why I’m here, I suppose, to pass along the warning. I can be as involved in this whole thing as you want me to be, or I can simply continue what I have been doing, watching from a distance to make sure he doesn’t hurt you directly.”

There were a few moments of silence, before I took a deep breath, and said, “If you don’t mind, I will need a bit of time to think this over. Though I have not been presented with a substantial amount of information, it introduces a different paradigm that will require...thought.” 

“I understand.” He seemed to notice the setting sun for the first time. “He might be back now, or returning soon. You don’t want to be gone when he is there. You might have some trust in him, but I don’t trust him as far as I can throw the Hulk.”

We turned away, and began walking in separate directions. 

“Oh Irene!” I stopped and turned towards him. “Yes?”

“Promise me you will be careful? And if you need me...” He took a few quick steps and was next to me again and held out a small object to me, and I took it from him. “Just blow into this a few short bursts. Most can’t hear it, but I can and will come to your aid.” 

“Thank you, Clint. I will keep your advice, and offer in mind.”

I returned to my home and sat down in front of my computer, which had now put itself into sleep mode. I didn’t even bother waking it up, simply stared at the blank screen. it didn’t seem that Loki had returned to the house, for I thought he would have at least said something upon my return. Even though it was somewhat early in the evening, I decided to go to bed and think over what Clint had told me.


	24. Chapter 24

Two months passed and Halloween came and went, as well as Thanksgiving. Now it was the end of November. I had not spared a thought about Clint, the Avengers, or his warning to me since that evening. I still had the small whistle, and would notice it in my desk drawer every so often, but nothing else happened. Nothing changed between Loki and I either despite my best efforts. He was still quite aloof, coming and going, but gone more often than not. He would check on my progress and the store of food, making sure I was still eating. I kept trying to ask him questions and gather his opinion regarding different aspects of the plan, but he would just tell me to trust my judgement and to take care of it. if I was honest with myself, I missed him being around. He was a welcome respite from the becoming tedious work, and also provided me an intellectual partner with whom to have lengthy discussions with. 

We did manage to have a few such discussions over a few of the literary works he had taken off my shelves and devoured as if it was a limited resource. His favourite stories he read seemed to be written by Shakespeare. I shouldn’t be surprised, I guess, as the Shakespearian language seemed to be very similar to his own strange form of English. He kept going back to the character of Puck from Midsummer Nights Dream, the play he first read by the great bard. We had a conversation that lasted the good part of two hours discussing the true character of Puck. Was he simply one who enjoyed playing tricks, but inherently good, or did he have a darker side to him and the mischief just a front that he created to be able to operate in whatever way he wanted. Loki was firm on the inherently good argument and said that there was never any harm in playing a trick here and there. I wasn’t too sure on the topic myself, but for the sake of argument, i took the side that he was inherently bad. 

Loki kept referring back to Act 2 Scene 1 where Puck referred to a few different tricks on the various people around town. The one that said:

Thou speak'st aright;  
I am that merry wanderer of the night.  
I jest to Oberon and make him smile  
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,  
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal:  
And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl,  
In very likeness of a roasted crab,  
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob  
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale.  
The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,  
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;   
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,  
And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;  
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,  
And waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear  
A merrier hour was never wasted there.  
But, room, fairy! here comes Oberon.

Another passage he referred to was where Puck decided to take matters into his own hands and changed the character of Bottom into an ass and have Titania fall in love with him as recompense for her not loving Oberon. 

My mistress with a monster is in love.  
Near to her close and consecrated bower,  
While she was in her dull and sleeping hour,  
A crew of patches, rude mechanicals,  
That work for bread upon Athenian stalls,  
Were met together to rehearse a play,  
Intended for great Theseus' nuptial day.  
The shallowest thickskin of that barren sort,  
Who Pyramus presented in their sport,  
Forsook his scene and entered in a brake.  
When I did him at this advantage take,  
An ass's nole I fixèd on his head.  
...  
I led them on in this distracted fear  
And left sweet Pyramus translated there,  
When in that moment (so it came to pass)  
Titania waked, and straightway loved an ass.

He recited each of these passages from memory, which was quite impressive considering I had only seen him read the play once. 

I realized the dialogue was not progressing any further when we began to approach two hours, and we had analyzed every scene Puck was in, and even some he was not in (Loki said he was operating behind the scenes). I decided on relenting and giving in to his side of the debate even if I was sad to see the conversation come to an end. 

We had a couple others of similar variety, but they continually got few and far between. Yup, I did miss him and I wasn’t sure how to re-establish that level of connection with him. I could be fooling myself that a god could have that connection with someone like me, but even the imagined connection we had was better than nothing. 

~~~  
I had fallen asleep on the couch, wrapped in my fleece blanket, still holding my copy of 1984. I was awoken by the book being gently taken from me, and the blanket being adjusted to cover more of my sleeping form. 

“Loki?” I mumbled half asleep. 

“Of course it is, now return to sleep.”

“But I was waiting for you. I need to talk to you about...”

“I said go back to sleep. I will be sure to be here in the morning for your discussion.”

“Mkay...” I barely got out as I was falling back asleep. I just barely registered being scooped up and carried to my bed. I almost thought I felt Loki climb into bed with me, but it must have been my unconscious dreaming that provided me with that feeling. 

My dreams that night were once again very pleasant. It appeared to be a continuation of the dream I had previously about Asguard. I was dressed in the emerald green dress once again, but this time I was dining at the long banquet table. Loki was sitting on my right, and some of the other present company included Odin, Freya, Thor, and Sif and The Warriors Three. There were several other people there as well, which were unknown to me. The entire table was spilling over with food, but no matter how much we ate, it never diminished. We had many laughs, great conversations, and many new friends were made that night. 

I smiled in my sleep, and rolled over, pulling the blanket tighter against me and fell into a deeper sleep. But not before my fingers brushed against ice cold skin close beside me.


	25. Chapter 25

I woke up to the smell of cooking breakfast. I smelled bacon, the sweetness of jam, and some other tasty aroma which I couldn’t quite place. I didn’t feel like moving as of yet from my very comfortable position in bed, so I decided to wake up a bit further before venturing out. 

A few minutes later, I heard a soft knock at my door. 

“Yes?” I asked, propping myself against the surrounding pillows, and wrapped the sheet closer to my shoulders. 

The door was opened a bit, and I saw Loki standing on the other side, dressed in the black suit instead of armor. He pushed open the door further, and I saw he was carrying a tray of food as well a a glass of what looked to be orange juice. 

“I thought you might be a bit hungry this morning, since it appears you didn’t eat much during the entirety of the day yesterday. From what I understand this is a typical breakfast served in your culture.”

He placed the tray on my lap, and I saw it was indeed a glass of orange juice complete with a pile of pancakes topped with syrup and a pat of butter along with a side of perfectly crispy bacon. 

“This smells fantastic, and I’m sure it tastes even better! I don’t even know how to respond to this sudden gesture of kindness.” 

“A simple thank you will suffice. Now. After you have completed your meal and prepared yourself for the day, then I will make myself available for that discussion you wanted to have with me the night before.”

I smirked. “You are going to make yourself available? In whatever way I want?” 

He grimaced and said “You ought to know I do not mean it that way.”

With that, he turned sharply on his heel, and walked out the door pulling it behind him. 

“I think I have him figured out, and then he goes and changes everything” I mused out loud to myself. I heard him chuckle on the other side of the door. Of course he was listening. 

I finished up the meal he had given me. I didn’t want to eat it too fast though, and savour every bite. It was by far the most delicious thing I had ever placed upon my taste buds. I had no idea how he made the food, whether by traditional cooking, or by use of magic, it didn’t make a difference to me. 

I cleaned up the plate, and thought for a second about licking up the remainder of the syrup on the plate, but decided I was too mature for that. I did use my finger to scoop up some of the larger puddles and licked them off. 

Now that my plate was clean, it was time to actually get out of bed. I walked to my bathroom, laid my cream coloured silk bathrobe out on top of the tile countertop and began the shower water running. It was soon heated up, and I proceeded with the shower process. Then continued on with the remainder of my morning routine. I hadn’t been completing my morning rituals in their entirety for a while, and there was something very comforting about the entire process. I dressed in a comfortable, yet classy pant and blouse combo. I wore white pants, with a bright red top that had ties around the waist and completed the outfit with the same shade of red lipstick. I looked at my reflection in the mirror to finalize everything. I loved how good I could look when I actually took the time to do so. 

Still in bare feet, I walked across the plush, light brown carpet of my bedroom and relished in the feeling of the material squishing through my toes. I got to the door and stopped, took a deep breath, and walked out to the common area fully expecting Loki to be sitting in his favourite chair, probably reading yet another book of mine. But when I glanced over at the chair, he was nowhere to be seen. Even after a cursory glance around, I could not locate him. 

“Loki? Loki where are you?” My voice seemed to echo in the empty space, but that could be just a figment of my imagination. I kept walking around, but my home was not that large, and after a look in each room, I still had not found him.  
“How did I lose a Norse god?!” I was getting frustrated now. He had promised me last night, and even mentioned it again this morning that he would be here. So where was he! 

“Loki! I am not in the mood to be toyed with. Show yourself this instant!” I yelled out, the irritation evident in my voice. 

In that instant, almost before the last word had left my mouth, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. 

Not even thinking about what was happening, my instincts kicked in. I ducked into a crouching position and at the same time turned on my heel to face the intruder. Then as quick as possible, to not provide the other party any time to recover and react, I stuck my right leg out and hooked it around their ankles, succeeding in pulling them to the ground on their back. Then I leapt on top of them grabbing their wrists with my hands, and pinning their hips underneath my knees. 

Breathing heavy, I found myself looking right into the eyes of Loki, amusement written upon his face. 

“Oh my god, Loki!” I swung my left leg from overtop of him, let go of his wrists, and sat on my knees, looking at him with apology hopefully written all over my features. Even though he looked amused with me before, I figured his mood could easily change if he was of the inclination.

“I’m sorry, Loki. You startled me! Then my training took over and...”

I trailed off when I saw him sit up and I noticed the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile that was attempted to be controlled. Apiece of him must have changed its mind, for he burst out laughing. He doubled over and clutched his stomach. His full laughter was so contagious that eventually I began laughing as well. 

Soon enough our laughter trailed off as our stomachs began hurting. We both realized we were laying on the floor curled up in a ball facing each other. 

“I cannot recall the last time I have laughed like that. Thank you for that privilege to share the moment with you.” His expression softened, and he brushed back a tendril of hair that had fallen into my face. 

Right. I was not going to have any of that. I quickly stood up, straightened my clothes, and walked to the window. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared thoughtfully over the space. 

I heard rustling from where Loki was, then I felt him walking up behind me. 

“Did I do or say anything to disturb, or harm you?”

“No, I am fine,” I said bluntly. “But we do need to talk.”

I uncrossed my arms and turned to face him. He was a lot closer to me than I expected. So close that when I turned towards him, my nose bumped into the lapels of his suit. 

I cleared my throat, and walked around him towards the kitchen. I really had no real reason for going there, but it gave me some distance between us. I was at least attempting to keep our relationship at a professional level, but he didn’t seem to be agreeing with me on that point. 

Loki followed slowly behind me and stopped on the opposite side of the countertop from me. 

“And what precisely will this conversation entail?” He wasn’t hiding his exasperation in his voice very well. Then again, I didn’t really care that he was frustrated. I was feeling the same. It seemed as if he had been avoiding me the past few weeks and I was at the end of my rope. 

I spun around quickly and faced him, and yes at this point, my frustration was turning a bit toward fury. If asked, I couldn’t give you a specific reason I was upset, but I was, and that was enough reason for me. “You can read my mind, can’t you tell what we need to talk about? I don’t know, maybe how you have practically abandoned me the last few months to work on your world domination plan? You don’t even care about the different aspects I am working on, nor do you provide any input on anything I have planned. And even when I would like someone to talk to, I can’t without looking as if I have lost my mind talking to thin air. Maybe I would like a bit of companionship every once in awhile, isn’t that one of the things you promised me I would have when you first approached me with this proposition? Huh? Someone to remind me that I am not alone in this world?! Someone who understand where I am coming from?! To talk to about what is on my mind? But no, you are never around. Sure you make sure I am eating, and bring me food, but I am starting to think I am a prisoner in my own home! And...” 

I broke off my rantings and began to cry. It was just too overwhelmingly emotional for me at the current moment. I placed my hands over my face, and sobbed, and leaned my full weight on the countertop in front of me. 

I didn’t even realize that Loki had left his position, and had walked over to where I was. Until he put his hands on my shoulders, and began to rub up and down my shoulders in a manner that was supposed to be comforting, I suppose. 

“Irene I sincerely apologize for putting you into this emotional state. At no time were my intentions directed toward such a manner.”

“You are doing it again. Attempting to win me back over with your fancy speech, and the reassuring gestures. I honestly cannot take it anymore. I want you to leave. And not just make me think you are leaving, but secretly return, but truly leave,” I said between sobs that were racking my body.

“Irene I...”

“I said, leave...please...”

At this point, I still hadn’t moved from my position, not even to look at him. 

I heard him give a deep sigh, “As you wish. If you wish to have me return, simply place your hand upon this,” He produced a small green and gold sphere and placed it on the countertop next to me, “and say my name. I should be here in a matter of seconds. Au Revoir” He lightly kissed the top of my head. 

I felt a slight disturbance in the air, and he was gone. I turned my head to look over my shoulder just to be sure, and sure enough there was nothing. 

I was still a upset, and didn’t know what I should do at this point, but I did know I felt like going back to bed and calling it a day. 

I picked up the small sphere, and carried it to the desk where my computer sat with the document containing the itinerary still open on the screen.

“Damn it all!” I yelled as I shut the screen of the computer, and put the sphere on the table next to it with more force than was necessary. I sat down in the chair, and gathered the various paperclips, and writing utensils that were sitting on the desk. I opened up my desk drawer to throw everything in, and noticed the small whistle that Clint had given me a while back. It seemed like forever ago now. I picked it up, and twirled it around in my hand, feeling the smoothness of the carved wood. 

Maybe I should talk to him about what is going on. Would he understand though? Would he want to gather up the entire Avengers gang and enforce their law upon the entire production? This was not something I could decide today. If I did, it would be a very emotional based decision and that was not how I operated. I was going to go to bed, and sleep, even if it ended up being a nap that got me to the evening, and then think further about my current predicament.


	26. Chapter 26

I only slept for a few hours, and it wasn’t a deep sleep either. I decided to give up trying to go back to sleep after looking at the clock a fifth time in the last 10 minutes. I rolled out, and pulled my comforter along with me, wrapping it around my shoulders. I walked out to the living room and to the kitchen counter where I had placed the small whistle the night before. 

I hadn’t honestly thought about what I was going to do, but I did dream about what I should do. I had dreamed about it both ways, if I talked to Clint, and if I didn’t. From what I could remember, the scenario where I conversed a bit with Clint turned out for the better. So that was what my unconscious brain had decided to do, supposedly. I had doubted my dreams before, and things did not turn out so well. Since then I hadn’t gone against something my dreams had decided was a good idea. 

I checked my phone and noticed several missed calls, and text messages. Some of them were from others, but the majority of them were from Bob. From his texts, it seemed like he was worried about me for some reason. I was just about to call him back, when I heard urgent knocking on my door. 

“Irene? Irene dear? Are you there? Open up!”

“Bob?” I enquired, as I ran to the door to open it. Sure enough, on the other side stood a slightly disheveled and worried looking Bob. 

He collapsed on top of me, enveloping me in his arms. 

“Why wern’t you answering! You always answer my calls! I was worried!” He held me at arms length and looked me up an down taking in my appearance. 

“I’m fine! Honestly I am. But it is always good to see you.” I said turning away from him to head back to the kitchen. 

“What’s wrong dear,” he asked following close behind me. 

“What was that?” I said looking out the window, preoccupied in my own thoughts. 

“Darling,” he said, spinning me around to look towards him. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

I shook my head no, not even looking at him in the eyes. 

“In that case, you sit down, and I will take care of you. And if you feel like talking at any point, just spill.”

20 minutes later, I was sitting on my couch with a hot cup of tea in hand, and watching Bob decide what movie we should be watching. 

Finally picking Love Actually despite my protests, he sat down beside me holding his own cup of tea. 

Roughly halfway through the movie, I turned towards Bob, and said, “So, I am not sure what to do…” He paused the movie, and turned his full attention towards me. 

“Spill it girl.”

I gave him a brief synopsis of what Clint had told me, and my conflicting emotions towards the entire Loki situation. 

“Sounds like you have yourself a bit of a problem. My advice would be to take up this offer of Clint’s. It seems like he might have some answers for you, and at least point you in a direction to be able to pinpoint what direction you need to go in.”

“You always have good advice. I should consult you more often.” 

“I have told this to you many times, so it is a good thing you are finally realizing it.” He said kissing my forehead. 

He decided he should be heading home anyway, so I wished him a good night and took care of the empty cups. 

I grabbed the whistle, and took it over to my chair, still dragging my blanket around my shoulders. I sat down heavily, put the whistle to my lips and gave a short blow. 

Then I waited. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was, I was disappointed. Maybe I was thinking I would experience some magical occurrence, but nothing. When nothing happened for a minute or so, I decided to make some breakfast. My stomach had begun to protest the fact that I had not given it much attention yet today. 

Just as the eggs were frying in the pan and the bacon was turning crispy, I heard a soft knock on the door. 

“Hello?” I called out. When there was no answer, I turned the heat off the pans and moved them to the side, so hopefully the food would stop cooking momentarily. 

I walked over to the door, looked through the window and saw Clint standing outside on the patio. I opened the door, and stood aside for him to enter. 

“Clint! Hi! I was beginning to wonder if you had heard the whistle. Not that I was worried about you not hearing it, I just didn’t know what to quite expect.” I said at a rather frenzied pace. 

“Sorry about that. I had to wrap up a little job I had on the other side of town.”

He gave a quick look around the house. 

“How did you get here that fast then?” Just as I said those words, I saw a sleek black looking motercycle sitting at the end of my driveway. “Ah! That’s how”

“Nice ride!” I commented to him as I shut the door, and out of habit also bolted it shut. 

“Thanks. It was a gift from my buddy Tony. He makes the coolest gadgets, and when he is feeling generous he shares a few. Not from his best stuff of course, but even the ones he shares are still really cool.”

He sat down in what I still referred to as Loki’s chair.

“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Something to eat?" 

"No, no. I'm fine. I just ate not too long ago. Now Irene, you are stalling. Put down the teapot, and come on over here." 

I gave a huge sigh, and did just that. I set the kettle down on the stovetop, and walked over to my chair and sat down. 

"So what is this about, Irene?"

I briefly told him what had been happening the past few months, including my imagined romance and the events leading up to that taking place. I told him about my self discovery I had been doing and my realization that I was a pathetic loser who craved validation from those I valued. 

I went on to talk about how aloof Loki had been the last few months, how he didn't care at all about what I had been doing on his behalf, the fact that I had changed my look to hopefully gain his approval, I had agreed to his silent command to not leave the house. I didn't even go running anymore. I felt like I was getting fat, I wasn't taking care of myself like I need to be, and my entire life was appearing to be more of a mess than what I had before Loki came into my life. He had promised he would make it better, so much for that. 

The entire time, Clint did nothing but listen intently, even offering me a tissue when I began crying. When I ran out of words, we both sat there in silence. After a few moments, I began to grow uncomfortable. 

"Please say something so I don't feel like such a stupid idiot." I managed to say without shedding any further tears. 

"I think, and I am channeling my fiancé Natasha here so bare with me, you look like you need a bit of a girls day to relax, and put yourself back together" 

That last bit, he raised the level of his voice in an attempt, I would guess to sound more like this Natasha person. I couldn't help but laugh and he smiled a bit victoriously at having eased my mood however slightly. 

"And while you are busy doing that, I will have a bit of a chat with a few of the guys and see if we can't do anything to assist you. For whatever reason, I seem to have a need to protect you in this situation. Must be my in born masculine need to protect the female gender of our species." He flexed his arm muscles like a body builder. 

I couldn't help but smile at that. Like I really needed protecting. I could hold my own. But of course that was when I was in a not so emotional state. I suppose it was comforting knowing someone was looking out for me. 

"I suppose I could do that? Do you want me to do anything to help? I can give you all my plans that I have so far, or make contact with Loki, or even come meet your team to tell them my side of the story." 

"No need to do that little lady. I will take care of everything. Just trust me on this, ok? All you have to worry about is what scent of bubble bath you are going to use tonight, and what type of wine will be your best friend for the evening. And then the hardest decision you will have to make after that, is what type of massage you will be getting tomorrow.”

I smiled, “Well that would be very nice. To not have any worries for a day or two? How long is it going to take for you to get a plan together?”

“I am going to be generous and say three days. Once I start making phone calls, I hope I can get something in place quickly to get you an answer. And of course stop you from having to worry about the whole situation for a bit.”

“That sounds great. So, should I just contact you in a few days, or wait until I hear from you first?”

“ll stop by, but until then, is it alright if I call one of my buddies and have them watch your house for these few days? It would make me feel much better if your safety was ensured.”

I sighed, thinking it over for a minute. 

“Well, it would be a bit safer I suppose...”

“Great.” he stood up.”I will make a few phone calls and get someone out here within an hour or so. And if you need me anytime in the next few days, please do not hesitate to give a short blow on the whistle again. K?”

“Got it.” I stood up and followed him over to the door. He walked out the door and started walking down the driveway. “Hey Clint?” He paused and turned toward me. “Thank you, for all of this. I really do appreciate it.”

He saluted with two fingers towards me, and turned back as he walked over to where his bike was parked. He swung his right leg over, started it up, placed his dark sunglasses on his face, and drove off. 

I closed the door, and locked it behind me once again. I leaned my back against it and let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. 

I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. Relieved? Content? Waiting with bated breath what was to come? Not entirely sure. What I did know for a certainty, was I was going to follow through with Clint’s advice almost to a T. I was going to enjoy a long soak in my tub with probably more bubbles than necessary, complete with scented candles, relaxing music in the background, and a glass of wine. And I would do all that, after I put a phone call into Bob to see if I could set up a massage, and a mani/pedi for tomorrow. Maybe even a face scrub. It would be amazing. 

I placed the phone call, of course leaving a message since it was now pushing midnight, but he would get the message in the morning and more than likely call me back right away. Then I started running the tap water, lit the candles, put a relaxing playlist on, and proceeded to sit in the tub, drinking all my troubles away until my skin began to resemble a raisin.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry the chapters have been sparse lately. School got in the way. But until finals rear their ugly head I should have some extra time to hopefully finish this out for ya.
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated.

My phone ringing next to my head woke me up the next morning. Except in my unconscious state, I did not register that it was my phone until it was too late to answer it and it went to voicemail. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes enough to see it was Bob that called. 

I didn’t even bother listening to the voice message, but instead dialed his number to call him back. 

“Irene! How are you my dear!” Of course he was this chipper in the morning. What else would he be like in the morning? 

“How is my favourite stylist doing this fine morning?” I did my best to not make it sound as if I just woke up, but apparently it didn’t work as well as I thought it would. 

“Oh honey! Did I wake you up? I am so sorry. You need your beauty sleep as much as the next person especially after the rough night last night. I can call you back later.”

“No Bob, it is alright. I am awake now. Do you have any time to squeeze me in today?

“I always have time for you. Do you want to come in as soon as possible, or wait until later today?”

I decided I would get ready as quick as I could and be at the spa by 10 am. That way, if I got down there, and decided I wanted a bit more pampering than originally planned, I would have time to do so before they closed. 

I must have fallen back asleep for a few minutes, for when I next looked at my clock, it was 9:43. 

“Shit!! I threw open the covers, threw on a pair of jeans, and a t shirt and ran out of my room. I grabbed my phone, which was still sitting on my pillow, found my keys and my purse, slipped a pair of flats on, and ran out the door. It takes me 15 minutes in good traffic to get to the spa, and I was going to be a few minutes late as it was. I knew Bob probably wouldn’t care in the least, but I personally hated being late for anything, in fact I was usually five to ten minutes early for all appointments I had. 

As I shut the door behind me, I noticed something move in the tree close by. Automatically I went into defensive mode. 

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

The figure shifted in the tree, then executed a calculated fall to the ground. I saw he was dressed in camouflage colours, but not the typical pattern worn by the various military branches. His outfit resembled that of Clint’s, protective, yet extremely functional. Except where Clint wore dark purple and black, this character wore forest green, black, and brown. 

“My apologies for startling you. I mean no harm. My name is Eric Kovach. I was sent here by our mutual friend Clint to make sure you came to no harm during his absence. I ought to have introduced myself sooner, but Clint mentioned you were enjoying your evening and more than likely turned in early. I did not wish to disturb you in that atmosphere.”

His voice was very deep and rugged sounding. It reminded me a lot of Aragorn’s voice in the Lord of the Rings films. 

“Um, yes. Thank you. I really do appreciate what you are doing for me. Definitely makes me feel much safer.” 

I suddenly realized where I had been off to in such a hurry merely minutes beforehand. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry to have to rush off on you like this Eric, but I am late for an appointment and have to run.” I began walked quickly to my car, and opened the door. “Oh and thanks again!” I called out towards the leaves of the tree as he had disappeared again, I assumed up into the branches where he had created his temporary home. 

I finally arrived at the spa nine minutes after 10. Yes I was speeding a bit, but there were not many people out on the road at the moment, so I justified it. 

I ran face first into the door, as my feet were moving faster than my hands. Thankfully Bob saw me, well probably heard the hard smack of my head against the door, and came over to my rescue. He opened the door wide, and stepped aside for me to walk in. 

“Oh my dear. You look absolutely awful! I told you more beauty sleep was necessary! Step into my office and let me see what I can do to help you.”

He took my bag from my hands and led me over to the salon chair. My bag was placed by my feet and Bob scrutinized my current look, probably trying to figure out what exactly needed to be done. 

“Well we need to get rid of those dark circles under your eyes for one, fix your bed head hair, and then put some colour into your lips and cheeks. That will do to start. What do you think?”

He faced the chair towards the mirror, and I looked at myself the first time for the day. 

“Oh my!” I gasped, ”Bob! I look absolutely awful!”

“Yes you do. Which is why you are lucky I am here. I am going to turn you from the ugly duckling, into the most beautiful swan you have ever seen. Now, do you see anything else that needs to be done at the moment?”

“I think what you mentioned will be a good start, then we can go from there.”

Bob proceeded to do just that, and when he spun me back around to the mirror, I already looked a million times better. 

“I know I say this every time I come here, but you are a miracle worker. Are you sure you didn’t sell your soul to the devil to gain these skills?”

Bob laughed, “Some days I wonder that myself, but it really is my pure awesomeness that oozes from my very pores. Then it spills onto everyone that I touch. Good thing for you, I think you end up getting more of it than any of my other clients.”

Yup, he never failed to make me laugh. 

After he was done with me for the time being he left me in the ‘very capable hands of his dearest friend Julie’ for my two hour massage. And yes I fell asleep. Usually I don’t, but then again, I don’t usually have a massage that lasted for two hours. She had to wake me up when the two hours were up. I had been sleeping a lot lately, but it was probably a side effect of the pressure I had been under the past month or so. 

I walked out to another portion of the spa, still wrapped in the fuzzy, plush white bathrobe. I sat down in the chair I was directed to, and was told Bob would be with me momentarily. 

Noticing the bowl of cucumbers next to me, I grabbed two of them, and placed them over my eyes. I was becoming increasingly appreciative to Clint for having suggested this. I took a few deep breaths, and forced each muscle in my body to relax. By the time Bob lightly tapped me on the shoulder, I had drifted off into my own world. So of course I jumped when he touched my shoulder.

“Sorry darling, just trying to let you know I was here.”

“Its alright Bob. I just wasn’t expecting anyone yet.”

I adjusted the cucumbers back on my eyes as they slipped a bit when I was startled. 

“Now You mentioned a Mani Pedi on the phone, did you want anything else today? Maybe a face scrub? A chocolate bath?”

“You have chocolate baths here?” I grabbed the cucumbers, and sat up in excitement. 

He winked at me “We just put it in, and technically it is not open to the public yet, but I think I can make an exception for you. If it is something you want to do. Takes about 25 minutes to heat up.”

“Do you have to ask me twice, Bob? I love chocolate, and I love baths. Why would I not want to put them together?”

He laughed, “Alright, I will be right back. I’ll go get it heating up for you, and we can do that face scrub while we wait.”

About 30 minutes later, I was in full on ecstasy. I had my hair wrapped in a towel, a honey based face scrub on my face, cucumbers on my eyes, and I was sitting in a tub completely filled with chocolate. Yup, this was definitely my version of heaven. 

While I was laying there I thought I heard something moving in the corner of the room. 

“Bob? Is that you? I’m doing fantastic if that is what you are wondering. This whole chocolate bath is better than I could have imagined.”

I didn’t hear any response, nor did I hear any further movement. Oh well, he must have left and I was probably conversing with empty space. 

I just started to settle back in, when I felt something, no someone, really close to my face. 

“I hope you are enjoying yourself my dear Irene.” 

My blood ran cold. I knew that voice. Smooth as silk, but with an icy undertone to it. Loki.

I quickly grabbed the cucumbers off my eyes, and jumped halfway out of the bath. Nothing. I didn’t expect there to be anything, I had learned that much by experience. Even so, I turned completely around twice to make sure. I took a deep breath in an attempt to slow my heartbeat down a bit. He was messing with my head again, and I wouldn’t allow it. 

I shimmied back down into the tub, placed the cucumbers back on my eyes, and attempted to return to that place of utter relaxation. But not after telling myself I would be contacting Clint as soon as I returned to my home. This was definitely something he needed to know about. 

When Bob returned, and told me it was time to move on, I really did not want to get out, but also didn’t want to have chocolate caked to my body for the remainder of the day, according to Bob. Then again he could just be saying that. 

I then got my Mani Pedi. On my fingers, I went with a marble effect with silver and gold colour, and on my toes I went gold. It was an amazing effect. On my big toes, Bob even managed to find a small silver cosmetic jewel that he placed on top of the nail. It looked adorable. 

“Bob, once again, you are a genious!”

“I know!” he said looking very proud

I playfully slapped him on his shoulder. This was definitely a day that I needed. I felt almost back to my old self. 

My spa day ended too soon when it reached closing time, but Bob told me it was now his time to ‘go home and pamper himself!’

I said my farewell to him, and headed home. 

I waved to Eric as I approached the house. I couldn’t see him, but I assumed he was still sitting watch up in his tree. 

I located the small whistle and was about to use it, when I stopped and thought about it for a second. Why would I need to bother Clint about this? It is not like Loki did anything to me, he was just playing a trick on me. And that is not out of character as he is the god of Mischief. It was harmless really. Sure it scared me for a second, but I would have gotten scared if it had been Bob that came in and did the same thing. 

“I can mention it when I see him again. No need to bother him about it now. He is probably busy with planning that meeting as it is.”

I put the whistle back, and decided I would start another book tonight. Looking through my titles, I almost chose Midsummer, but decided against that one as it uncovered memories I didn’t wish to relive. Instead I settled on a more modern title “The Beekeepers Assistant”. Sherlock had told me about this series which was as he put it “An attempt to romanticize my life and continue my existence as a fictional character”. After hearing that, I just had to purchase the entire series, if only to use it against him in the future. I hadn’t read them up until now, but better late than never.


	28. Avengers Assemble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is spring break this week, so I am hoping to get a few chapters posted before the insanity of finals rolls around. I'll do what I can! I promise! :D

“I told you this was would happen! My brother is not to be trusted! I said that from the beginning before anything went further! And now look at this mess!” Thor bellowed as only he could, his booming voice echoing around the walls of the SHIELD headquarters meeting room. 

“Yes you did approach me beforehand, Thor, but you have to understand I am not allowed to use taxpayers dollars to run after something that might in fact be nothing! My hands were tied, and as I keep telling you all, are still tied!” Directory Fury was getting more and more upset by the minute. His face was even growing red. They had been talking for the last hour about Loki, about Irene and how she was being effected, and what to possibly do about it. Thor gave up after his speech, and thudded over to a chair in the corner where he appeared to be sulking. 

A few members of the Avengers group had given their own inputs initially, but after an hour, now were simply sitting back and waiting until they were allowed to leave. 

Clint had been standing in the corner the entirety of the meeting throwing in comments to support various argument, and even threatened to take matters into his own hands if need be. Seeing that the discussion was getting them no where, he seemed to give up, and mumbled something about going to try and climb into the rafters. 

Tony had made a few remarks about defending the weak, especially if it meant taking his new suit and target seeking missiles out for a test run, but now he to had fallen silent and kept tinkering with the left hand of his suit using only a screwdriver. 

Bruce was sitting in one of Fury’s office chairs with his arms crossed over his chest. He had been fairly quiet the entire meeting. Typically in group situations he chose to sit back, listen, process and then determine if what he had to say was pertinent to the discussion. Until such a thing happened, he remained silent. Then again, he could also simply be trying to keep the other guy in check, one never could tell with him.

Natasha had been the most vocal about the discussion besides Clint. She kept backing up what Clint was saying about Irene needing to be removed from the situation, or the situation needed to be removed from her. She said that being the only female of the group allowed her insight into the situation that none of the others had. Her advice was to contain Loki as soon as possible, and send him back to Asguard where Thor would need to ensure he could never return to earth. 

The only other person there was Steve Rogers. He hadn’t spoken the entire time, similar to Bruce. The thing different with him, was he genuinely looked concerned to the point of almost being pained by the entire proceedings. When Natasha and Fury were once again having the pointless conversation regarding what was going to be done to help, Steve took that opportunity to stand up. Natasha and Fury went silent, Tony stopped tinkering, and everyone looked towards Steve.

“I know I am not the most intelligent person in this room. I know I have many things yet to learn about the way todays world works. But I do know one thing. No matter what situation someone is in, if they are weaker than I am, then it is my personal responsibility to protect them, and, if possible, remove them from the danger. So, Director Fury, I respect your decision about not getting involved in the situation, but I for one will offer my personal services to help in anyway possible.”

He sat back down, and the silence was electric. 

“Well if it means I can try out this bad boy, and use Loki as target practice, I am in too” Tony commented. He twisting his wrist around while inside the glove and watched the various pieces adjusting of their own accord. 

“Obviously I am in. You will need a woman on this mission, otherwise you boys might mess it up” Natasha commented with a bit of a smile. 

She turned towards Bruce. “What about you. Bruce. Are you in? You never know what we might need you for.” 

Bruce gave a huge sigh. He wanted to go help, but he wished he could leave the other guy behind so there was no chance interference. Then again, the big guy could be helpful if things got ugly. He uncrossed his arms and stood up. “I’m in. What is our next move?”

Clint had rejoined the group and was just about to say something in response to this sudden support by everyone, Fury stood up and cleared his throat. 

“I am glad you all have decided to rally together it warms my dear little heart...”

“Little is right.” Tony interrupted and smirked at his own comment. Everyone turned to Tony with disgusted looks on their faces. 

“What!? Was it something I said?” Again he chuckled at his own joke. 

“As I was saying,” Fury regained control of the moment again, “I am glad you all have chosen to band together on this situation. I truly am. However, I want it to be made very clear, that SHIELD will not be supporting you in any form of the word on this endeavor. No matter what situation you find yourself in, we will not come running to save you. That being said,” his voice got quieter and everyone had to move in closer to be able to hear what he was saying. “Don’t get yourselves killed, don’t kill each other, and if the situation as it currently stand, escalates where there are citizens in danger, I want a report immediately. Understood?”

“You got it sir” Steve said with a small salute. 

With that Fury exited, and left them to discuss what the plan was going to entail. 

“So, What is our plan of attack? I offer the full range of my suit, which includes missiles, blasters, extremely advance technology, and of course the one thing you all can never replace.” Tony said, holding his arms out to the side like he was addressing a large crowd. 

“And what would that be?” Bruce chimed in with a raise of his eyebrow. 

“This guy!” Tony exclaimed pointing his two thumbs towards himself. 

Natasha scoffed at him. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she was warming up to Tony. Sure he was a misogynist pig, self centered, and threw his money around like there was no tomorrow, but he could be good once in awhile. At least he had his intelligence going for him. And the suit. 

“You don’t think I am a valuable asset to this band of misfits, my dear Natasha?” Tony asked. He relished in playing word games with anyone, so of course he would jump at this chance. 

“First and foremost, I am not your dear. Never have been, never will be.” She walked closer to where he was standing. “Second, your suit is valuable, you on the other hand we could do without. Why don’t you work on making a completely independent suit and we will see how I like it.” 

“Alright, break it up you too.” Clint walked over and stood between them, putting his arms up in front of them both. “Tony, go make sure everything is ready on your end. Natasha, can you discuss strategy with me please?”

“Sure honey. I’ll be right behind you.” Natasha replied not wanting to relinquish the win of the staring contest she and Tony currently were involved in. 

“Tony, I said get your suit ready.” Clint said, a bit louder this time.

Reluctantly, Tony broke the eye contact with Natasha. “Who put you in charge, Legolas?” 

Natasha couldn’t help but smirk a bit as Tony walked out of the room slightly defeated. 

“So,” she said, “What is your plan, Clint?” 

“Well here is what I have so far,” He said pushing a few papers closer to her that he had grabbed from their place on his chair. “It is not much, but it is a start. Bruce, Steve, feel free to chime in any suggestions you have as well. 

“I might have a few ideas to contribute as well!” Thor piped up from his corner. 

“Then get your little god butt over here and contribute them.” Clint shouted out. 

They all gathered around and began throwing out ideas to make the operation go as smoothly as possible and to use each member of the team as effectively as possible. They continued on in this manner throughout the night. Eventually Tony did return, but kept wanting to talk about his latest discovery with black holes that he made while tweaking a feature on his latest suit version, and was eventually kicked out once again.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not completely happy with this chapter, but it is necessary to the plot. So, tada!

I woke the next morning after a particularly intense dream. I couldn’t remember half of it as is the case with most dreams, but I do remember Loki appearing in my room and attempting to convince me that I should reconsider joining him in his endeavor. He even attempted to kiss me if I was remembering it correctly. 

But it was just an insignificant dream. At the moment, I was more interested in the noise that had jolted me awake which seems to have disappeared. Nope wait! There it was again! It sounded like it was coming from my window. I grabbed my gun from my nightstand drawer and walked slowly over to my window to peer out. It was still really early in the morning, and the light from the rising sun was still attempting to melt away the fog tendrils that would sometimes invade the area overnight. 

I couldn’t make out much out through the window, but I did see a shadowy figure outside. My first thought was it might be Eric trying to get my attention. But then why would he not come to my front door instead?

Still holding my gun, I went around to my front door and opened it enough for my head to stick through. “Hello? Is anyone out there?”

There was no answer, and the figure I had previously seen, seemed to have vanished. I began to close the door, when I heard a voice come from close by. I was startled and aimed the gun into the fog, even though it was futile. I was unable to see more than two feet in front of me. 

“Hello Irene. My name is Natasha. I am a friend of Clint's. We haven't met before, but I wanted to stop by and give you a status update on what is going on. Clint would have come himself, and almost did, but I convinced him it would be better if I came instead.” 

The female voice carried over the foggy distance, but she didn’t seem too far away. 

“Well if you are a friend of Clint’s then you are a friend of mine.” I called out toward the direction of the voice. I could hear the hesitation in my own voice. I was still unsure about her. 

“Thanks. Mind if I come in for a bit?” Suddenly she was right next to me. I panicked and turned my gun towards her, but she was quicker than me. She moved out of the way and turned the gun upwards. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t realize I was so quiet in my approach, but I was trained in stealth since I was 5. It is a very difficult habit to break.”

She smiled reassuringly at me, and I could feel my heartbeat returning to normal. 

“Yes, right. Sorry.” Her smile reassured me a bit more. “Please, come in. Make yourself at home.” 

She entered, and I shut the door behind her. I watched her as she made her way to my living room couch to sit down. She seemed to possess cat like qualities in the way she walked. Yes I was a bit jealous. And she was gorgeous on top of it all. 

“So, Clint sent you over?” I said coming to sit next to her on the couch. 

“Well like I said, told him I was going to talk to you. I just had to get him to agree.” She smiled. I wasn’t sure what it was about her, but I was quickly warming up to her. “I wanted to let you know we have been talking through the night and have come up with a plan. However, even though the boys wanted to go ahead and implement it, I had to make sure you were alright with it, since you will have to play a vital role. If you chose not to, then we can come up with something else. Alright?”

I nodded. “Thanks for including me. Knowing I am included in the planning process is greatly apprecated.”

“That’s what I figured. And between you and me, the boys are not that good at including Once they get an idea in their head, they run and never look back”

Yup, I was definitely liking her. 

“Where are my manners.” I said, standing up. “Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea..? If you were working late, I am sure you are tired.”

“Coffee would be fantastic. Thanks”

“Any cream or sugar with that?” I called back as I started the coffee maker. 

“Nope. Not for me. I like it straight black.”

~~~  
Once we both had the cups of coffee in our hands, then we sat back down and turned to face each other as much as one can when sitting on a couch. 

Natasha took a long sip of her coffee. “That’s the stuff. Never have I had such good coffee until I moved to the States. It is absolutely amazing, and you can almost taste the caffeine content.”

I laughed, “This isn’t even the really good stuff. You should try Starbucks sometime if you think this is good.”

“I will have to do that sometime. Maybe we can make a girls day out of it.”

We both took another sip of the coffee, before Natasha put her cup down on the table and turned her full attention towards me. 

“I don’t know the specifics of your interactions with Loki beyond what you told Clint, and he in turn told the rest of us. But if I am understanding things correctly, he attempted to play himself off as a romantic partner to you?”

“It seemed that way to me, yes” I nodded. “I almost fell for it too, before I wised up.”

“The next thing I am going to say could be difficult for you to hear, but I need you to hang with me. We are thinking you should play along with Loki’s game. Pretend you are still falling for his ruse, and are becoming romantically involved with him. Continue to plan for the day he wants, and even attend with him. Basically do whatever you need to do, to repair things with him and get him to trust you again.”

“Ok, I am with you so far, but what would this accomplish?”

“I’m getting to that.” She took another sip of her coffee and placed it back down on the table.   
“By earning his trust, it will allow you to keep a close eye on him and report to us if necessary. You will also be privy to intimate details of what he is planning and pass those details along to us. The more we know, the more we can help you. This day is approaching quickly, correct?”

“Yes he wanted to follow through with it around Christmas Day”

“Ok. For the next three weeks, we will make sure there is a watch on duty 24/7, and additionally provide you with a direct contact to someone in our group. We are thinking a burner phone would be given to each group member in a sort of shift fashion. However, that is another thing you can definitely decide if you would like. Whether you want to have a contact with me and Clint only, or if it is alright to open that up to the entire group. But that’s not something you need to decide at this very minute.”

She finished what was left in her cup and continued. 

“Once the day arrived, we would all have specific stations, that if you would be so kind to pick them for us along with the other planning, would allow us the best vantage point to the action. Then if trouble develops, or an opportunity arises, we can step in and capture Loki. From there he will be returned to Asguard and hopefully never return.”

I sat there for a minute thinking of what she had told me and deciding what I was going to do. In the meantime I finished up my coffee and placed the empty cup on the table next to Natasha’s. I cleared my throat and answered, “Well I can see this plan has been well thought through, and I greatly appreciate that aspect. In answer to the question you posed, I would be fine with communicating with any of the members of the team, as long as I knew who I would be contacting if I were to do so. Possibly a schedule can be established where the shifts rotate in two hour segments, or something to that effect.”

“That can be arranged. I can also attempt a time for you to meet the other three guys so you have a better idea who they are.”

“Sounds like that would be beneficial. As far as the overarching idea of the plan, I think it sounds like a brilliant idea. I would love to be able to play the role you have chosen for me. However, I am worried about myself and to be completely honest, Loki as well. I really don’t want to get hurt in this whole ordeal. What if he falls for his own game and develops true feelings for me?”

“I understand where you are coming from, however, having dealt with Loki before I can honestly say he has never showed any emotion besides anger, and the intent to go through with his ultimate plan. From what Thor has told me, Loki has severe daddy issues, and ultimately wants to please his father more than anything. But destroying things and hurting people is not a way to build up any type of trust or relationship.”

I smiled. That sure was true. Nothing could ever be built if you were intent upon destruction. 

“And you ensure that you will be right there with me on the burner phone for when I need a sane ear to talk to?”

She laughed. Her laugh was very musical sounding. “Yes, if you need a dose of sanity, then someone will be on the other end of the line at all times.”

“I am going to give you the tentative answer of yes, but I would like to sleep on the entire thing before I give you my complete answer if that is ok with you.”

“Sure thing. I should probably get back anyway and make sure they havn’t burned down the place in my absence, or probably more likely in their case, created something that blew up something else, or Tony kept provoking Bruce and things got ugly.”

She saw the confused look on my face, and added “It will all make more sense when you meet the rest of the gang.”

“If you say so.” I laughed. “It was really nice meeting you. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you seem like someone I would call to meet for coffee and talk about life with, and for me that is saying something.”

“The same goes for me with you. If you have any further questions that come up, just contact Clint.”

With that she opened the door and left, disappearing into the growing light of day.


	30. Chapter 30

I had not anticipated on getting restful sleep that night, as that is what typically happens when I have a decision to make, but when retired, I saw Eric out my window still watching from his tree, and I felt safe. 

I awoke the next morning feeling more rested than I had been in weeks, and my decision had been made. I felt at ease with it, and that was a good enough indicator to me that I had made the right choice. Now to let Clint and his people know. But right now I was hungry. Breakfast first, then to other business. 

After I ate, and cleaned up after myself, I picked up the small wooden whistle again, and gave a short blow. I sat back and grabbed my book again while I waited. I almost read the entirety of the Beekeepers Apprentice the day before, but I was at the climax of the mystery. I had pinpointed who I thought the murder was, but I wanted to be sure of course. 

I was on the last 5 pages, when I had the knock at my door. “Oh come on! I am almost done!” I shouted into the room. 

I put the book down and went to open the door. However it was not Clint. It was a man I had not seen previously. He was on the shorter side, had curly hair, wore glasses, and looked very non threatening. 

I opened the door, and greeted him. 

“Hi, um, my name is Bruce. Natasha might have mentioned me before now, um, could I come in, please?”

“Sure, come on in, Bruce!” I remembered, thinking back to our conversation, Natasha did mention a man named Bruce who was on their team. Didn’t she say something about him being really intelligent? If that was the case, he and I should get along splendidly.

“I hope I am not intruding, but Clint was preoccupied with the team, and asked me if I wouldn’t mind stopping by.”

“Well, actually I was almost finished with my current book, on the last five pages actually. If you don’t mind I would love to finish it, and then I can divert my full attention to talk to you.”

“Oh most definitely. Please go ahead and finish. I know what it is like to have the ending of a book hanging over you”

“Thanks. Feel free to have anything in the kitchen to eat or drink while you wait. Shouldn’t be too long, as I am a fairly fast reader.”

“Just let me know when you are finished” he replied, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smirk. He turned away, and slowly walked towards the kitchen, appearing to be looking for something to drink.

I quickly finished my book, just after Bruce had sat back down with his glass of water. I closed the book, and must have had a satisfied look on my face, for Bruce looked at me, and asked, “Turned out the way you were hoping?”

“Yes. The person I pinned as the murderer turned out to be correct, and it was a pleasant ending. I am quite satisfied.”

“I love when books end like that. Happy, and the way you can almost predict. Which is why I will never read a Shakespeare tragedy.”

He finished off his water, and placed it next to him on the table. “So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”

“I am sure everyone knows what Natasha came over to talk to me about yesterday, since you all were in the discussions together. And I want to say that I had time to think about it, I slept on it. I woke up this morning with the certainty that I wanted to go through with her proposed plan.” 

He unfolded his arms, and gave me that smirk again. 

“I was hoping that is what you would say such a thing. I am not sure what our plan would have had to evolve to if you had declined our offer. 

I laughed, I was liking Bruce. If this was the way all the members of the team were, then I would get along with them all very well. “I am glad I could make your jobs easier. But I am wondering how to exactly enact the plan. Should I stop by your headquarters and talk with you all about the specifics?”

“I think that would be the best course of action. That way we can ensure we are all on the same wavelength, as that will be a necessary component of this entire operation. Are you free tomorrow? I can pass the message along to the rest of the team, and make sure they understand the importance of such a meeting.”

“Tomorrow works for me. Pardon me if this is overstepping, but what is your educational background?”

“Not overstepping at all, I really don’t mind.”

He went on to tell me about all the schools he had attended, the honours he had received from the educational and scholarly circles, the Nobel prize he won, and with a bit of prying on my part, also told me about the newest paper he was working on. He said it would be a companion piece to one he wrote back in his graduate school days regarding gamma rays. The new one was going to be mostly focusing on the effects of gamma rays on the human body. I thought it was a bit of a strange topic, but sounded intriguing. 

“I can’t promise I am going to understand any of the terminology that you include in the paper, but I would love to read it when you get it finished, if you would allow me to of course.”

“It would be great to get a second opinion, besides just having Tony tell me I have everything wrong, or didn’t factor in all the aspects that I should have.”

“I keep hearing about this Tony character. I am honestly excited to meet him.”

“He is not all he is cracked up to be.” He paused and looked at me, cracking a bit of a smile. “Ok, yes he is, but don’t tell him I said that. He doesn’t need any more ego boosting.”

I laughed again. “I am excited to meet the rest of the team too. If they are anywhere close to how amazing you, Clint, and Natasha are, I think I will love all of you.”

“We are a very eclectic bunch that is for sure.”

He stood up and took his glass to the kitchen. “I had better be off. I don’t want to arrive to a disaster, or to find out that Tony has gotten into my things. A bigger situation could emerge.” He seemed to find amusement in an apparent joke, but I did not understand it. 

We both walked over to the door, and he opened it, stepping just outside. “It was very nice meeting you, Irene. I look forward to meeting with you again tomorrow.” 

“Same to you, Bruce”

I started closing the door, as he walked away, when I heard him call back. “Irene!” 

I opened the door back open, and he continued “I didn’t tell you what time to be ready! I think one of us will stop by and take you to the headquarters say at 11:00? I know they will be upset with me making an executive decision like this, but I don’t really care. Does that sound good to you?”

“I can be ready by then.”

He nodded, and then appeared to grow uncomfortable.  
“I’ll see you again tomorrow then, Bruce.”

“Alright, see you then”


	31. Chapter 31

Right about 11am the next day, there was a knock on my door. I finished slipping my last earring in, and opened the door to reveal Natasha standing there. 

“Natasha! Come on in!” 

She stepped inside and I have her a quick hug. “Don’t tell the boys, but I was hoping it would be you at my door today.” 

Natasha smiled, “I insisted that I would pick you up. Besides, I wanted a chance to commandeer Clint’s new toy.” She pointed to the black motorcycle I had seen Clint driving the last time he came to visit. “Ready to go?” She handed me the second helmet she was holding.

“This is turning out to be the best day ever!” I grabbed the helmet from her, and strapped it on. I pulled the door shut behind me and practically ran to the bike. Natasha followed behind me laughing as she went. 

“I see someone is excited.” she commented as she swung her leg over, and started the bike. 

“It is not everyday you get to ride a bike that is more than likely still in experimental stages, ride said bike to a meeting of superheroes, and get to finalize a plan to take down a god. What more could a girl want?”

It was a great thing to have a microphone system installed in the helmets themselves. It provided Natasha and I an opportunity to talk. It was just random chit chat, but it was quite refreshing for me. It almost felt like I had a friend in this world. 

It didn’t take as long as I was expecting to arrive at the headquarters. It was an impressive looking building particularly when compared to the buildings around it. For one it was much taller, but it also looked more modern, almost as if there was a small piece of New York City transplanted here. It appeared the outside was completely glass which allowed one to see into the white inside corridor. There were a few people going about their various duties walking right past a large logo of an eagle on the wall along with the word SHIELD. 

Natasha maneuvered the bike to what appeared to be the back entrance of the building. She drove turned onto a lighted ramp which directed us down and close to what seemed to be the center of the building. We entered into a white, circular room with soft blue lights outlining the edge, where she turned off the engine, took off her helmet, and got off the bike. 

Without even pausing to ensure I was following suit, she set the helmet on a nearby small, shiny, silver table and continued walking toward a pair of sliding doors on the opposite side of the room. Realizing I was expected to follow, I quickly placed my helmet next to Natasha’s, and followed after her. When we got close to the doors, they automatically opened and we stepped inside. I realized we were standing in an elevator, that apparently had one destination. Without pressing any buttons, it began moving upward. When the doors opened once again, I got my first glimpse of the meeting room. 

It too was a large, circular shaped room similar to the one we just left. There were white lights on the ceiling, which mirrored the previous ones as well, but that is where the similarities stopped. This room was mostly comprised of grey metal, and dark coloured wood. Off to the left of the door, in what appeared to be the front of the room, there were three large, rectangular windows that looked out over the city. It was not brightly lit, but there was enough light from the ceiling lights, and other light sources that I could not identify. The room itself was very sparsely furnished, there was not much else, besides a table, chairs around the edge of it, and a few chairs around the room at various places. However the table was huge. It was the same wood and colour to match the rest of the wood in the room and was also circular shaped to echo the room. 

I noticed a few of the chairs were already occupied by a very eclectic looking group. There was a man with shoulder length blond hair wearing armour that reminded me a lot of Loki’s. He looked as if he needed a haircut, as he kept pushing hair out of his face. Sitting on the table in front of him was a sledgehammer-looking device, except this had strange writing around the outer edges and the handle was wrapped in a leather band. 

Next to him, was Bruce. He looked very uncomfortable with the whole situation, and kept looking around the room as he fiddled with his fingers. I caught his glance, and gave him a small wave, and he responded with the same. 

Bruce was sitting next to an empty chair, which I assumed was left open for Natasha. 

To the right of the empty chair was a dark haired man who had some kind of gadget in front of him which he was tinkering with. However it did not seem as if he was concentrating on it fully. More using it as something to keep his mind preoccupied, similar to what others might use doodling for. He noticed Natasha and myself enter into the room, and looked right at me with a serious expression. However that quickly faded after he looked me over. A smirk appeared which oozed self confidence. When I gave a small smile back, he winked. This must be the infamous Tony Stark, I thought. 

To the right of him, there was another blonde haired man, who wore a simple, plaid shirt over what looked to be a very muscular chest. He had a very kind looking face, and I immediately felt that I would get along with him. Especially when he looked up from a thread he had been pulling at on the hem of his shirt, and flashed me a big smile. One that reached even his baby blue eyes. 

To the right of Steve, I saw Clint. He didn’t have his quiver or his bow and arrow with him as far as I could tell, but I was sure they were somewhere close by. He had a variety of papers, maps, and a computer in front of him. He kept shuffling papers, clicking on various things on the computer, then going back to the papers. He was so preoccupied, he didn’t even see Natasha and I were there, until she cleared her throat. 

Clint looked up, and it took him a second to change gears and comprehend what we were there for. Once he did, he stood up and walked over to us. 

“Irene! Great to see you again! Sorry I couldn’t come and pick you up this morning. Last minute details and all. I figured you would be fine in Tosh’s capable hands.” He looked at Natasha, who was making her way to the empty chair. “Thanks again, Tosh.”

“No problem at all.” She flashed him a tight smile. “And don’t call me ‘Tosh’”

“Right, sorry dear.” he looked down at the floor almost in embarrassment. 

He directed me to an empty chair next to him, pulled it out and I sat down. 

"I know you have met a few of the team, but let me go around the room and introduce everyone.

Starting on the far side we have Thor, the god of Thunder and brother of Loki, then if course you have met Bruce, Natasha, then there is Tony, Steve, and of course myself.” 

Each person as they we introduced either gave a small wave, or said a small hi to me. 

"Everyone, this is Irene, the backbone of this entire operation."

"Hi everyone, it is a pleasure to meet you all" I said. “I hardly thing I am the backbone though.” That earned a bit of a laugh from the group. 

"Did you bring the plans so we can understand what we need to do?” Steve asked me. 

"Yes, I did." I said as I pulled a small stack of papers out of my small satchel and handed them to Clint who began passing them out to each person. “What you have there is a detailed schedule of the 24th of December. Some hours are not as detailed and only have a few things happening. However, the timestamps get closer together as the day progresses. If you read through the entire itinerary, you can see the main event will take place at the central location of Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom park.” I got a strange look from Tony on that one.” That was one of the few inputs Loki had” I explained. “He said this one provided him with an already captive, large audience, as there is a stage show performed there twice a day. He will be making his appearance at the earlier one at 11:15am. He decided he will appear in place of the actress playing Maleficent in the show and appear in the green smoke. From there he will carry out his plan which I have not been privy too.”

“I do not understand what this all means! When do I get to take my brother into custody?” Thor bellowed from his seat, his voice booming around the room. 

“Shut up Thor! The lady is speaking!” Tony pipped up. 

I smiled over at Tony, “Thank you, Mr. Stark!”

“Oh please, Mr. Stark is my father. Please call me Tony.” He smiled again, his time a full smile instead of a smirk. 

Oh he was definitely laying it on thick. 

“As I was saying, before I was interrupted,” I continued. Tony threw a pointed look at Thor, who glared back. 

“I am not entirely sure what Loki has planned besides what I have told you, but if I am able to tell anything about his personality, and Thor, maybe this is where you can provide a bit more insight, Loki will want it big and dramatic.”

“Ma’am?” 

I looked up from the paper of notes I was reading off of, and looked to find the speaker. It was the blond-haired man, who had been introduced to me as Steve. 

“In my opinion, it appears you have planned everything out very detailed-like, and you might even be getting to this soon. If that is the case then I apologize for stepping on your toes. However, my question to you is, when all this is taking place, would we be stationed nearby, and if so where? I realize you have not seen our full outfits as of yet, but they are quite conspicuous.”

“I was getting to that,” I smiled at him, “but I don’t mind that you brought it up, as it was my next point anyway.”

He gave a small smile, and looked back down to the apparent pesky thread on his shirt. It was kinda cute how awkward he was being with this entire meeting. But back to the task at hand. 

“There are several places which you all can place yourselves. I am not quite sure of your strengths individually, so I just marked the places on the map, detailing the castle area without assigning a specific person to a spot.”

Clint took the stack of maps from me and handed them out to everyone, then sat back down and began analyzing the map himself. 

“As you can see, there are a variety of places you could place yourselves. One is in the castle itself which will offer the person there a wonderful vantage point of the entire production, there are a few around the stage area, and a couple in the various bushes surrounding the area. I was able to locate more than was needed, in case someone wants to move around a bit while things are unfolding.” 

I paused a second to let all I had said sink in for everyone. Tony hadn't ceased the tinkering on his lump of metal the entire time, but as silence reigned, he paused looked around the room and then stopped at me. 

"We'll if no one else is going to say something I will. I love it! I am sure either Legolas or MC Hammer will have some kind of objection to it, but I am all in. When do we leave?"

"Now listen here you tiny metal man, this fine lady has done a fine job with this plan and I have no objections to all she has said." Thor's voice boomed. 

“Cool your jets Hammer Time. I didn’t say you did object, I was just saying you might. You usually require there to be input from you on matters which have to do with your brother.” Tony replied. 

“Alright you too. Back off it.” Clint had decided he needed to regain control of the situation, which was probably a good thing as I saw Thor’s hand curl tightly around the handle of his large hammer.

Clint looked at me and gave a wink. “I for one agree. This plan is absolute brilliance.” He turned to address the rest of the group. “Now, what needs to be decided at this point, is where each of us will be stationed around the castle grounds. I feel it would be in everyones best interest for my place to be in the castle. The rest of you can fight over where you will be. Of course, as Irene pointed out, there are extra vantage points where you can feel free to move about when the target is not watching.”

After that little speech, chaos erupted as each person began explaining on why a certain spot would be better for them. The only one that did not speak up was Bruce. He continued to sit, reclined in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. 

He soon spoke up, which quieted the rest of the group. He had a concerned look on his face, said “I don’t think I should be involved in this operation.”

Natasha turned to him and responded, “But Bruce, we need you. You’re a part of the team!” 

“Yeah I know, but the other guy doesn’t do well in crowds. I don’t want anything to happen with that many people in one place. Besides, the only help I could be is figuring out the physics involved. It is the other guy you really want.” 

Clint gave a big sigh. “Bruce, we really would like you involved, but if you feel you really cannot be of assistance, and would prefer to stay behind the scenes, then I guess that can be arranged.” 

“I suppose I will think on it some more, but thanks Clint.” 

“Now, since we apparently cannot act like adults, I will go ahead and assign everyones positions. Irene, I cannot thank you enough for the work you have done, and for coming here today. However, I believe you have your work cut out for you in the next few weeks ahead.”

I had almost forgotten about having to double cross Loki in this whole thing. 

“Do you need anything else from us at this point?” Clint asked me, raising his eyebrows. 

“I think the only thing I need from you all at this point, is your assurance you will take care of Loki. I would prefer to not be on the brunt end of his wrath once he realizes I have crossed him.”

Tony got up and came around the table to stand in front of me. He grabbed my hands, and looked right in my eyes. And turned on all the charm he could possibly muster. Was this how he was around all females? 

“My dear, I promise that no harm will befall you in this endeavor. If necessary, I will fly you through the air with my suit which I built entirely with my own two hands by the way. From there I will take you to Stark Tower where I will make sure that my assistant, Pepper caters to your every need.” 

“Leave the lady alone, Tony.” Steve said. “Don’t mind him, he thinks he is God’s gift to womankind.” 

Natasha came over to me “C’mon, we have to get you back home.”

I threw her a thankful smile and we walked towards the elevator doors. 

Soon enough, we were back at my front door, and I was saying goodbye to Natasha. 

“Thanks for everything Natasha.”

“Please, call me Tosh.”

“I thought you didn’t like being called Tosh?”

“I don’t. Only special people are able to call me that. Consider yourself lucky.” She smiled cheekily, hopped on the bike, and rode off.


	32. Chapter 32

After the long day yesterday, I decided to take it easy for the rest of the evening. I read for a bit, then decided to turn in early. Shortly after waking up I realized this was the day I needed to contact Loki and restore his trust in me. Had it really been just over a week since we had last spoken? What was that he told me I needed to do in order to contact him again? Oh yes. I located the green sphere and tossed it back and forth between my hands. Did I really want to go through with this? As of now it didn’t matter what I thought. I had promised to the team that I was going to, and I kept my promises no matter what. 

I set the sphere down, made myself a hot breakfast and sat on my couch to eat it. I kept feeling as if I was being watched the whole time. The hairs on the back of my head stood on end. Unless my mind was really playing tricks on me, I would swear it was the sphere that was giving me this feeling. 

I finished my food, and cleaned up after myself. I returned to the living room, and lit the fire as the air outside was getting colder, and I didn’t feel like turning up the heat. Plus there was something very comforting about a wood burning fireplace, even with the way it smelled. I sat down on my plush rug in front of the fireplace with the still glowing sphere in my hand. I twirled it around, trying to look at it better, but it looked the same from any angle. It gave me a strange sensation, one that I could not identify. Loki had said all I had to do was hold the sphere, and simply think about him. So that is just what I did. 

I didn’t know what to expect, but I continued to stare at the sphere, waiting for something to happen. 

“Hello Irene.” 

I jumped, as the voice came out of nowhere. 

“Loki?” 

I turned around and saw him standing in the shadows in his full armor. 

“Hello my lord. I have missed you these long days.” 

I stood up and walked over to him, instantly turning on all possible charm I could muster. I sauntered over to him making sure my hips swayed as much as I could make them. I wasn’t sure if this was the best way to go about accomplishing my task, but it was worth a shot. When I reached him, I traced his jaw line with my fingertips. “Did you miss me, Loki?” 

“What is your purpose for this, Irene?” 

“Is it wrong for me to miss you, and show you just how much I appreciate you?”

“I have discovered that mortals have an ulterior motive when they begin acting in this fashion.” he replied coldly. 

“Well I’m different. You said that yourself. And besides, why would I have an ulterior motive. I called for you. Does that not make my words seem more sincere?” I began walking around him, trailing my fingers as I went

“I suppose..” He trailed off as he looked at me through narrowed eyes. He was still largely skeptical, and I suppose he had every right to be after I practically kicked him out. However, if this plan was going to work, I needed him to give into me. 

I came around to face him. “Loki, I promise to you, that I truly did miss you. I want someone to talk to about things on a similar intellectual level, to discuss literature with, and to just enjoy the company of. Is that too much to ask from the god of mischief?”

He smiled slightly, “I suppose something along those lines could be arranged. Was there something in particular you wanted to start with first?” 

“Some Shakespeare discussions?” I smiled up at him. “I have never had a dialogue as good as the ones I have had with you regarding the literary works. Typically I agree with the points you make, but I love the sense challenge which the conversations bring.” 

He still seemed to be a bit weary of following along with what I was saying, but I could see the moment in his eyes when he made his decision. “Alright. I suppose that sounds like a bit of fun.” 

I smiled up at him and we walked over to our two chairs. “Is there one you would prefer to discuss, Loki? I am not sure which ones you have read.” 

“During my absence from this residence, I occupied some of my time with reading all of this authors literary works. I am well versed in which ever you choose.” 

I pictured Loki sitting in the local library with stacks of Shakespeare novels surrounding him on the table and his nose in one of them. I couldn’t help but laugh at that mental image. Apparently Loki did not appreciate my sudden outburst of giggles as he narrowed his eyes and glared at me. 

“Do you find this situation funny?” 

“Just the image of you in the library reading Shakespeare is..oh dear hehe” 

He was clearly not as amused by the situation as I was, so I worked quickly to calm myself down so he didn’t become more upset with me.

I sighed, “Are you sure you want to pick one? I have picked the last few which we discussed at length.” 

He wordlessly walked over to my bookshelf, paused to scan the titles, and pulled one out. Hamlet. Why had he chosen that one? Granted we had not discussed any of Shakespeare's tragedy plays as of yet, but I found it odd that he had chosen that one. 

“Why Hamlet?” My curiosity getting the better of me as I returned to my chair. 

“Wouldn’t it be more prudent for us to be seated on the couch as we did previously so we both have visual access to the pages?”

I agreed and went to join him on the couch. 

Loki opened the book, and began flipping through, seemingly trying to find a specific scene, or passage, which left me sitting there with nothing to do. I ended up being thankful I had lit the fire earlier as it gave me something to watch and preoccupy my thoughts with. Eventually, Loki must have found the page he was looking for, for he began to read aloud. 

To be, or not to be--that is the question:  
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer  
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune  
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles  
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--  
No more--and by a sleep to say we end  
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks  
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation  
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--  
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,  
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come  
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,  
Must give us pause. There's the respect  
That makes calamity of so long life.  
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,  
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely  
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,  
The insolence of office, and the spurns  
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,  
When he himself might his quietus make  
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,  
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,  
But that the dread of something after death,  
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn  
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,  
And makes us rather bear those ills we have  
Than fly to others that we know not of?  
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,  
And thus the native hue of resolution  
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,  
And enterprise of great pitch and moment  
With this regard their currents turn awry  
And lose the name of action. 

I became lost in his voice. The way he read the lines, made me believe he was feeling those feelings himself. That he could completely sympathize with the character of Hamlet. When he stopped speaking, I felt tears running down my cheeks. Not knowing what to say after that emotional delivery, I wiped the tears off my face, and sat there in silence. 

“I completely understand how Prince Hamlet feels in that speech.” I turned to face him, but he continued staring ahead into space. “I have thought about how peaceful death would be, but then I realize I really do not know what death is like. Would I be tortured by the things I have done in the past? Would it be endless night?”  
He finally turned and looked directly at me, his eyes glistening a bit. “What do you think death is like?” 

“I honestly havn’t thought about death that much before. But I think it will just be nothing. Maybe even something we are not even conscious for. There are many belief systems regarding death. Some believe you will carry the souls of those you have wronged on your back up a winding path which climbs a tall mountain. Of course there is also the more traditional beliefs of heaven and hell where a person's soul goes based on what they believe of what they have done in their life warranting either place. But regarding what I think? I honestly can’t answer that for you. It is never something I have had to figure out to maintain my lifestyle. I suppose whatever happens, I will get there eventually and endure whatever it happens to be. What do you think death is like?” 

He looked down at his lap for a second, his thumbs moving against each other. “I imagine a place that is full of eternal torment as retribution for the wrongs you have committed in your life. For no matter what you attempt to do in order to correct those wrongs, your sins will always be there haunting you forever.” 

I had a feeling there was a large piece to his story that he was not telling me about. 

“If you need to talk to somebody about anything that is bothering you, just know that I am here.”

“Thank you for that. I suppose your support is most welcome.” 

He seemed to still be upset, and I wasn’t sure what to do to lift this cloud over his head. “Did you want to continue reading Shakespeare? He chuckled. “This is quite entertaining.” he said as he moved my fingers into various positions. 

I remembered enough letters in the sign language alphabet to know that I was spelling something, but I couldn’t make out exactly what it was. 

“What am I spelling?” I asked, still watching him manipulate my fingers attempting to figure it out on my own.

“My name. You are spelling out my full name, both the Asguardian version, and what I am called on my birth planet of Joutenheim. 

As soon as he started, he stopped and my hands dropped into my lap. 

I smiled. I felt like he was slowly trusting me again. Except I was starting to fall for the ruse myself. If I was going to pull this off, I needed to fully immerse myself in the role I was assigned to play, just as if I was going undercover. Completely distance myself from my own emotions, and fully dive into the emotions of the character. In this case, the character just happened to be extremely similar to the personality of myself. It would take all my acting skills to pull this off, but I felt like it could be done.

I stood up and began walking to the kitchen. “Do you want anything to eat or drink Loki? 

“A glass of ice cold water would be fantastic.” 

I poured him a glass, and put a few ice cubes in it. 

As I was handing it to him, he looked at me and said, “Thank you. I have another request for you, but you might think it a bit strange.” 

“What is it,” I inquired, crinkling up my forehead. 

“Could you possibly turn the temperature down a bit? I am sure it doesn’t feel that warm in here to you, but it feels as if I am roasting alive.” 

“Umm, sure. Is there a certain temperature which would feel comfortable to you?”

“29 degrees Fahrenheit.” he said without delay. “However that would be too cold for you. aardvark If you bring the temperature down to around 68 degrees Fahrenheit, then it shall be more tolerable for me.” 

“Not a problem.” 

I went to the thermostat to turn it to 68, and realized it was already at that temperature. I know for sure I had it set higher than that before. I began inspecting it closer to see how it seemed to change on its own. 

“I hope you don’t mind, but as soon as you gave your approval, I went ahead and changed it myself.” Loki’s called out. 

“You could have at least told me you were doing that so I didn’t have to move, or think I was going crazy.” I said walking back to the couch. I plopped down on the cushion. aardvark

Loki and I engaged in small talk the rest of the evening. I probably wouldn’t remember much of what was said, but I would remember that the entire evening was a very enjoyable experience.


	33. Chapter 33

The next week flew by as I finished polishing the details on the plan. This time around, Loki seemed a lot more involved in the entire aspect than he previously had been. He would ask me if I had considered different variables such as what to do with the actress who was supposed to be emerging from the green smoke. Most of the things he mentioned, I had already accounted for, but I didn’t view it as an inconvenience. For whatever reason he was showing interest in what I had been working on, and I appreciated it. He would even make me take breaks and go outside for a walk with him. Outwardly I was going along with everything, taking it in stride, and falling head over heels for him. Internally, I was elated that he seemed to have completely given me his trust, which would make the plan go a whole lot smoother. I almost felt bad that I was going to betray him like this, but then I remembered the plan we had decided on. 

I kept in contact with the Avengers team periodically. It seemed like every time I contacted them, I would get a new member of the team that I was talking to, but I didn’t mind. I had a special place in my heart for each of them. Tony had even asked me the last time I talked to him, if I would consider being an official member of the team, being that I was an honorary member already. I told him I would think about it. In all honesty, I had thought about it, and initially thought it would be a fun idea. But as I thought about it more, I wasn’t so sure. It would mean being tied down to one place. Sure I could continue doing all the things I loved, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be tied down. 

It was only a few days before the Disney extravaganza. Loki and I had gone over the plans a million times, and I had given the team the various changes that were made to the plan as it was finalized. Loki and I had even visited the Magic Kingdom to make sure we knew what we were getting into. He, for some strange reason, refused to wear inconspicuous clothing, and instead elected to wear his ‘normal’ clothing. 

It did provide me with much entertainment, as children and young adults kept running over to him, asking for a picture with him and his signature in their autograph books. They must have thought that I was the person that walked with the different characters. 

When we were alone at one point, I leaned over and told him that is what he got for wearing such a ridiculous outfit. His only response was to grit his teeth and continue walking. A few of the employees even called out to him that he was wearing a ‘sweet outfit, dude!’. Of course he did not respond. 

We did eventually get to the stage area of the castle and Loki was able to walk around the various sections. He even made himself invisible at one point to be able to go below the stage to figure out how the lift and smoke machines worked. The whole turning invisible thing took me by surprise. I assumed his abilities were limited to the teleportation thing that he did every once in awhile. 

At one point I had to stop him from zapping a small dog with his staff when the animal took a liking to his leather jacket and attempted to mark it as his own territory. After that matter, he said we needed to leave immediately. 

When we got back to the house, I texted Natasha to tell her what happened today with Loki and his outfit for I thought she would find it very amusing. She definitely did, and apparently the rest of the crew did too. Especially Thor. 

Before I knew it, it was the night before the big day. I kept referring to it as D-Day or, Disney Day in my head, but didn’t say it out loud, or in front of Loki. I have a feeling he would have marked it as idiotic. 

I sat in front of the fire, drinking a mug of chamomile tea to relax me before turning in early. I wanted to make sure I was well rested for the big day tomorrow. Loki didn’t seem as if he was settling down for the night at all. In fact he was currently pacing back and forth so hard and fast I thought for sure he was going to create a hole in my carpet. 

“Loki, why don’t you come over here for a minute.” He came over hesitantly, and I stood up when he got closer. 

“Would you grant me one thing tonight?” I asked very unsure what his reaction was going to be. 

“Depends on what your request is.” he said with hesitation. 

“Would you dance with me to one song?” 

His forehead crinkled up a bit, and I could see he was thinking hard about my request. 

“I suppose that would be acceptable. But please keep in mind that this is a very unexpected pleasure you are going to be participating in. There has only been two other individuals whom have had this same experience.” 

“I completely understand, Loki” 

I went over to my speaker system on top of the fireplace and found the song I was thinking of. “You Belong to Me” by Jo Stafford. I had always loved this song, and had been wanting to dance to it with someone. I had attempted to get Sherlock to dance with me once but he replied with the statement along the lines of dancing being an unnecessary exercise performed by people with nothing better to do with their time. I never brought it up to him again. 

The song began playing, and I went back over to Loki. I hesitantly held out my arms, he grabbed my hands and pulled me close. We danced to the entire song in a slow waltz-like fashion. He was a very good dancer. Not that I expected him to be a poor dancer, but he was really good, almost as if he had been trained. For all I knew he had been. He was a prince after all. Wasn’t dancing one of those things that was something all princes knew how to do? The song soon ended, and we both let our arms drop and stood there awkwardly. 

I walked over next to his chair, and suggested he sit down. It was definitely his chair now, as a few nights previously, he changed the colour of the fabric to emerald green with gold trim. It didn’t match the rest of my decour at all, but I figured if it made him happy, that was all that mattered. 

He came over and sat down, however reluctantly. I came to sit on the arm of the chair with him. I was not sure why I had started doing that, but it was something I had been doing the last few weeks. It usually ended where the arm would become uncomfortable after so long, and I would slide off to end up on his lap. Once I even fell asleep on his lap with my head propped up on his shoulder. Strangest thing was he didn’t object at the time, nor did he bring it up later and express his displeasure at the situation I put him in. 

“I understand you are anxious about tomorrow, but your pacing was not helping my level of anxiety. I keep reminding myself that everything has been meticulously planned, every variable has been accounted for, and everything will go smoothly. Mostly because the plans I create always go smoothly.” 

That comment got a bit of a smile from Loki. “I do trust in your abilities my dear, but I am worried more about my aspect of the day. What happens if I mess up somewhere, or something worse happens.”

“What else could possibly happen?” I asked looking at him with concern in my eyes. 

“Well my brother could show up for one.” Loki said with a small line off worry appearing on his face.

I brushed a piece of hair away from his face. “I am sure things will work out just fine.” 

“I suppose you are right.” 

I was glad he decided to drop the topic. If he had pushed the topic of my worry, me might have found out the entire plan that was about to happen the following day. I would never have forgiven myself if I let everything fall apart when we were this close. 

I began to stand up and head to bed when Loki gently grabbed my wrist, and pulled me back. “Stay up with me tonight, please?” 

“I cannot promise I am going to stay awake all night, but if I can sleep out here, then I think that would work.” 

Loki pulled me back onto his lap, and I snuggled down so my head was resting on his shoulder. I will give the guy one thing, he definitely smelled good. It was a mixture of leather, a hint of metal, and something else I could not place I simply attributed to ‘Loki’. Together they made a great combination. 

“Can I put in a movie?” I asked, lifting my head off his shoulder a bit. 

“I suppose that is acceptable.” 

I got up, and padded over to my dvd collection. It wasn’t that impressive, but I was working on it. Most of my money somehow ended up going towards new books. I looked through the various titles, and ended up picking one of my favourites, Eat, Pray, Love. It was a beautiful piece of art, which began as one of my favourite books. Whenever I indulged in either the book or movie form, it would always provide me with insight for my life, as well as fueled my want to begin traveling around the world once again. 

I came back to the chair, and sat down on Loki’s lap again as the opening credits began to play. About halfway through the movie, I felt my eyelids began to grow heavy, and I struggled to keep them open. I hated falling asleep during a movie. Even if I had seen it several times, I still felt like I was missing something. I heard the volume of the tv begin to slowly diminish, and I pried my eyes open a bit to see what was happening. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Just go to sleep, little one. I am just turning down the television volume so you can get sufficient rest.” 

“Mkay” I said sleepily. 

The next thing I realized was Loki reclining the chair back into a more comfortable sleeping position. I shifted on his shoulder and fell fast asleep.


	34. Chapter 34

I woke up the next morning still sleeping in the reclined chair. Except there was something missing, or someone. Sometime during the night, or early morning Loki must have left and left me to sleep. I have no idea how he got out of the chair without disturbing me, as I fell asleep completely on top of him, but he somehow did it. 

I reached down to pull the lever to return the chair to its upright position, which did the work for me, as far as the sitting up went. I was rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, and running my fingers through my hair in an attempt to return my hair to a state of semblance when I heard a noise in the kitchen. I twisted around the side of the chair, and looked towards the source of the noise. What I saw was both surprising, and simultaneously the most funny thing I have seen in a very long time. It was Loki, standing over the stove, with a white puffy chefs hat on, a quilted oven mitt over each hand, holding a wooden spoon in one hand, and a spatula in the other. What topped off the entire ensemble, was a pink apron with ruffles around the edges that he had tied around his waist. I am not sure where he found it, as I don’t recall owning anything like that. There was also a Christmas music station playing on the radio located on the underside of the cabinet closest to the stove. I wasn't quite sure, but I could have sworn I heard him humming along to Jingle Bell Rock. 

I muffled the sound of my giggling behind my hands, as he attempted to flip a flapjack and it landed on top of his hat, squishing it down into a sad looking pile of fabric upon his head. 

And that is how he looked when he turned around to face me, apparently hearing my laughter. A disgruntled look on his face, a flapjack on top of a squashed hat, and the spatula still in his left hand. He looked at me, gave a bit of a glare, then glanced up probably trying to look at his hat, then back at me. Then he lost it too. He started laughing so hard, that he doubled over. The flapjack slid off his hat, and made a flopping sound as it hit the floor, which made us both laugh even harder. 

I was doubled over the arm of the chair as I could no longer hold myself up due to being racked by laughter. I saw Loki actually fall on the floor still laughing uncontrollably. 

It took a few minutes before we regained our sanity. He picked himself off the floor, and I sat back in the chair still breathing heavily and wiping the tears from my eyes that had begun to form. 

I heard a few noises coming from the kitchen, making it seem like Loki had returned to his previous duty. About a minute later, he appeared next to me, and holding a plate. It contained a flapjack shaped like Mickey Mouse that even had chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth and there was also two strips of crispy bacon. There was a fork already resting on the edge of the plate, and a pad of butter off to the side. In his left hand, he was holding a small cup of syrup.

“Here is a bit of nutrition to keep you fueled for the morning.” he said as he handed me the plate. He also had a small white towel draped over his right arm that I did not notice before. After he handed me the plate, he pulled the towel off, and laid it on the arm of the chair. 

“Do you require anything else at this moment?” He asked looking very serious. Almost too serious. It made me giggle a bit. 

“No thank you sir. This is all I require at the current moment.”

He gave me a mock bow, and walked back to the kitchen. And yes, he was still wearing the smashed hat and pink apron. 

I giggled again, and began cutting into the pancake. It was absolutely delicious. The best flapjack I had ever had I was sure. I polished it off very quickly and decided it was finally time to be moving for the day. Especially when we had to be at our designated places in less than two hours. 

I placed the plate in the sink, and saw Loki was cooking up the last of the batter. I threw a smile in his direction and actually got one back to my surprise. 

I went into my room to begin getting ready for the day. I started the shower to get the water heating up, and decided I needed to contact the team. I was having mixed feelings about the whole thing. I had done my best to distance myself, and for the most part it had worked, but Loki had been being extra sweet to me, especially today, and it was making me second guess the entirety of the plan. 

With the water continuing to run, I picked up the phone and dialed the number. It rang twice, a low rumbling sound in my ear, before it was answered. 

“Hello?” a voice called out that I immediately attributed to Steve. I was a bit disappointed, as I was hoping Natasha would be on phone duty at this hour. 

“Hey Steve! Sorry to call you so soon before the meet as I am sure you all are getting ready to take off and get in position, but I had something I wanted to ask real quick.”

“Not a problem at all ma’am. How can I help?”

“Well it is kind of a long story followed by a question, but I will do my best to keep it short. I briefly summarized what had been happening the last couple of weeks, telling Steve about all the things Loki had been doing for me, how attentive he had become, and even the part about him letting me sleep on his lap a few nights. “Saying all that, I guess my question is, what exactly is going to happen to him when all this is through. I don’t want to see him hurt in anyway, nor do I want him to be in a position of captivity in his own home. I know what that feels like, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

There was a bit of silence at the other end of the line, as I am sure he was taking a minute to think about all that I had said. I heard him take a deep breath, and then he said, “I understand where you are coming from. The woman I love, I would never want anything bad to come to her, even if I knew she had a past with anything similar to what Loki has. That being said, I want you to remember that he is the god of mischief. And there is a good reason why he is also referred to as Silver Tongue. He knows how to get what he wants. And I have a feeling he will do whatever it takes to make happen what he wants, even if that means playing house for a bit with you. Does what I am saying make any sense?”

“Yeah it does. I am trying to keep all that in mind, but everything he does is making it much harder to keep things separated.” 

“I can understand that. And in answer to your other question, while I don’t know the exact state Loki will be in once he returns to Asguard, I can assure you he will be well taken care of. From what I heard from Thor, they have set up a whole wing of the palace that would be Loki’s where he can do as he pleases, however it will stop him from doing more than minimal magic.”

“I suppose that will have to work. I understand they cannot give him complete freedom in this situation. Can I ask you just one more question?”

“Of course”

“I understand if it can’t be right away, but would it be at all possible for me to visit him when this is all over?” 

“That is something I would have to bring up to Thor. He would have to escort you through the Bifrost so you stay safe. But if it were all up to me, I would say of course you could. But I will bring it up to him for you if you would like.”

“Thanks Steve, that would be great. Well take care, and I guess I will see you in a few hours.”

“See you then, Irene.”

I hung up the phone, and placed it back in its hiding spot and climbed in the shower.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It has been forever since I posted the chapter, and I should just finish it up since there are only two chapters left. Well, finals and end of the semester projects got a bit in the way, and are technically not yet finished for another week. But I felt bad, and I needed a break. So here is the second to last chapter!

I opted for a short shower as I had already been running the water for a good while by that time. I dressed in a cute, but functional outfit for the day. Jeans, a light blue blouse, and a headband to match. I kept my make up as natural as possible. No sense in overdoing it today.

Once I was satisfied with myself in the mirror, I walked out of my room to find Loki standing in front of the big window. He had changed from his earlier attire back into his armor. I knew he was planning on wearing that, but I admit I was a bit disappointed to see the apron gone. I cleared my throat, and he turned around to face me. 

"Good you are ready to go." 

He was acting very formal, especially in contrast with how he had been earlier. But I decided it just must be nervous energy 

"If it is all the same to you, I would like to be a bit early to this thing." 

"Um sure, not a problem. I am about ready to go anyway. Just let me grab a few things first." 

I returned to my room, where I grabbed the phone from its hiding place, and placed it in my small clutch bag. I was not sure why, but i was nervous. I didn't even have a specific role to play in the days events, as my entire position had comprised of behind the scenes work. Today I was dropping Loki off, and watching from the crowd.   
~~~  
We traveled in silence the entire way. It was extremely uncomfortable, until I turned on the radio. As was customary around this time of year, all the radio stations were playing Christmas music. Each one I flipped to had a different traditional Christmas tune. 

Without realizing it, I began humming along to Mannheim Steamroller's version of Carol of the Bells. I saw Loki turn his head towards me slowly. 

"What? Is there something you would like?" 

"You are singing, and this song is driving me absolutely crazy." 

"This is a classic Christmas song!"

"It is highly repetitive, and the electronic noises do not resemble what the majority of the population refers to as, music."

I rolled my eyes. "There are many forms of music, and electronic just happens to be one of them."

"Well it hurts my ears.” His hands glowed green for a second and the station went silent. 

I glared at him “Am I allowed to listen to anything to pass the time?"

After a second, and a sideways glance me, he replied, “Mhm, I suppose that would be acceptable." 

The radio came back on, and this time it was classical music. This piece happened to be Flight of the Bumblebee, one of my favourites. Just to annoy Loki, I decided that my right hand was now a bumblebee and buzzed around the vehicle to the songs rhythm. 

"Cease this immediately." He said as he swatted my hand away from him. 

"Are you being a mr grumpy pants? C'mon be happy! We are going to the happiest place on the planet!" 

He made a grunting noise and I took it to mean he was finished with the conversation. 

Silence reigned until we arrived at the park. 

~~~

Later we were approaching the castle area. There was already a crowd beginning to form, even though the stage show was still 45 minutes out. I turned to Loki and saw him scan the crowd. He was already attracting attention with his outfit again, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was too preoccupied with watching the crowd but seemed to be distracted from the various things going on. 

I faced him straight on, and grabbed his shoulders. “Loki, you need to focus. We have planned this out to the very detail. This plan will work. None of my plans ever fail, and I have invested more work into this than anything I have done before. Now get in your position, and lets get this done!”

He nodded sharply and hurriedly walked over to the access door to the understage area. There, he planned to contain the actress playing the wicked Maleficent. Her role was to come up through the trap door along with a stream of green smoke and ‘ruin’ the other characters holiday plans. However, instead of the actress, Loki was going to ride the lift up to the stage, and literally take over the show. From there, my details got a bit fuzzy, but the information I did have was he would enact his rule over the gathered crowd and make them pay homage to his kingship. 

This information I had given to the Avengers team, and we decided that once he had got to that stage, they would enact their individual plans, and bring Loki under the control of Thor. I sighed heavily, I could only hope things would go according to plan. 

As soon as I knew Loki was completely out of range, I pulled the phone from my clutch and called the team. After hardly a ring, it was answered by Tony. 

“Irene! How is my favourite girl doing today?!” 

“Hey Tony. I am doing well. What are you doing? There seems to be a lot of background noise!”

“Sorry about that. Jarvis! Isolate the phone call and get rid of all the background noise!”

“Right away sir” a robotic sounding voice said from Tony’s side of the call. 

Instantly the noise diminished, and it sounded as if Tony was sitting right next to me. 

“Sorry about that again, dear. I am doing a few fly overs, and sometimes the rushing air makes a disturbance in phone calls. What can I do for ya pretty lady?”

I laughed. I couldn’t tell if he was flirting with me, or if he was just being himself at this point. But whatever it was, I appreciated it. “I sent Loki to his position below stage, and am now waiting in the front of the crowd for the show to begin. I was just touching base with you all to see if you were set to go.”

“From what I can see, we are all ready to go! Everyone is in their place, Hawkeye has a great vantage point of the grounds, and I am finishing up my sweep of the area. Thor has alerted Odin and his gatekeeper Heimdel-e..Headbell…something like that, and said he and Loki will be needing access to the bifrost in approximately an hour.”

I took a deep breath. Everything sounded like it was falling into place which put me at a bit of ease. “Thanks Tony. It’s appreciated more than you know.”

“Any time dear. Tony out.” 

The connection went dead, and I placed the phone back in my clutch. I moved a bit further into the crowd in an attempt to blend in a bit more. I glanced around to see if I could spot any of the team, but did not see any. I didn’t expect that I would, as they are professionals, but you can’t help a girl for being curious. 

Before I knew it, the show began. It was full of everything the kid inside me was expecting. My favourite characters from the Mickey Mouse gang, there were giant wrapped presents all over the stage, and there was upbeat Christmas music coming from the speakers. When the characters entered the stage, and began dancing in a choreographed dance to the music playing. A couple confetti guns were set off, and the various coloured pieces of paper floated all over the stage and the crowd. I reached up and caught one. I would save it for later as a memento. I didn’t normally become sentimental, but it must have been the magic that Disney brought to everything that they did. 

I tucked the piece of confetti into my coat pocket, and turned my attention towards the stage show. It was a simple plot they were establishing, but then again it was expected. They had a short time frame, and had to make the story simple enough for small children to follow. The plot centered around Mickey and his friends wanting to have a holiday party, and Mickey had a present for each of them. A box would be ‘unwrapped’ and something would emerge such as a large jack in the box, or a toy soldier. With the toy soldier, there was a small dance number and more soldiers also appeared. If I didn’t know better, I would have said Steve was one of the toy soldiers in the back of the small group, but I couldn’t be sure. I would have to ask him about it later. If it happened to be true, it would definitely be an amusing story.

All the boxes were nearly open now. There were only two more to be opened, and Mickey said he was saving the best for last, which he indicated as the gold and silver wrapped box. That meant the green and black box was next. During the last few minutes there had been bits of green smoke slowly trailing out of the box for a while now. So when Donald Duck asked the audience if the box should be opened, there was a chorus of loud “No’s” from the audience. 

“If you want to see the big box, we have to open this one first!” said Mickey in his high pitched mouselike voice. 

He skipped over to the box, seemingly oblivious to the green smoke that was now billowing out of the box. The box was opened and there appeared a column of thick green smoke. There seemed to be a shadow figure appearing in the center, but it was difficult to make out entirely. Over the loudspeakers the music changed to the Disney villain theme, and the other characters turned towards the newcomer to continue on with the show. 

It seemed like everything went in slow motion. The smoke began to dissipate, and the full form of Loki was revealed. I have to admit he looked very impressive standing up on the stage, his horns gleaming in the sunlight, and the blue gem in his golden staff appearing to have a slight glow. 

The cast members in the various costumes looked at each other in confusion before deciding to huddle together in a corner, and the other various employees who were acting as guards for the stage area pulled out their various walkie talkies, or spoke into their ear pieces and began trying to figure out what was happening. It didn’t take long for some members in the audience to understand that something was not right. Especially as Loki began to direct his menacing gaze over the cast of characters, and the audience. 

“Kneel!!!” Loki’s voice bellowed over the crowd. 

Frightened and very confused as to what was happening, the various members of the audience began to do just that. Men, women, and children of all ages began to set down items that were in their arms, and kneel on the ground in front of Loki. I even followed suit not wanting to draw attention to myself if I was the only one continuing to stand. 

I looked up at Loki to see what his reaction of the whole thing was, and saw a slight smirk on his face. Oh yes, he was enjoying this. And I didn’t blame him. Everything was going according to plan as he thought. I just hoped the other aspect of the plan was going just as smoothly. 

I looked around to see if I could notice anyone from the team about to strike, but I didn’t see anyone so I stopped craning my neck. Everyone else around me was in full on panic mode. And here I am looking like an idiot appearing to be expecting something, I thought.

I attempted to ‘get in character’ with what was going on in the environment. But I continued averting my eyes around the area to remain informed on all events taking place. 

Loki was pacing back and forth across the edge of the stage, looking almost lost. He looked towards me and for a brief second we made eye contact. I attempted to pass some encouragement through to him in the gaze. Somehow it must have worked, as I saw his eyebrow raise ever so slightly, and then he continued about his pacing. My eyes followed his pattern as he went back and forth, when suddenly he stopped in the middle of the stage area facing the crowd who were still cowering and whimpering with the heavy uncertainty that hung over them. 

Loki slammed his staff down roughly on the wooden stage, and let out a loud yell which grabbed the attention of every single person in the crowd, even those who had begun to turn their attentions elsewhere. To be honest he scared me a bit as well. I had never seen him get that angry, and in that moment, I caught a glimpse of what the fury of a god was. His eyes seemed to glow red, and veins appeared on his neck and forehead. Either he had fully convinced himself this was the right thing to do, or he was the best actor I had ever seen. 

Loki raised his staff and pointed the business end over the crowd. The end began to glow a brighter blue, and pure energy seemed to be swirling around. Everything seemed to be happening at once. I saw a blur of red and gold come out of no where, and land somewhere by Loki. Simultaneously, I saw, what I later figured was Steve, jump out of his hiding place, and also land close to Loki. Natasha’s voice was heard over the speaker system which they had apparently hacked. Probably with the help of Jarvis. The gathered audience quickly dissipated with individuals running and screaming in panic. 

I somehow calculated while all this was going on, that Clint must still be in his vantage point, and I had yet to see Thor or Bruce. I remembered Bruce had said something about not wanting to be here, but I was sure Thor was around here somewhere. He wouldn’t risk missing seeing his brother be potentially humiliated, I was sure of it. Don’t ask me why, but Thor rubbed me the wrong way, but I will save that story for another day. 

I felt the wind pick up around me and it could have been just my imagination, but I thought the sky grew darker as well. Before I realized what was happening, the god of thunder himself appeared right behind Loki and restrained him in his large arms. Loki was completely caught off guard, and for a second I swore I saw fear in his eyes, but he acted quickly. A double of himself was created and reappeared in front of the stage at the level of the audience. 

Loki pounded his staff against the ground again, and yelled “QUIET!” Everyone went still. I made eye contact with Natasha, who winked at me and subtly leaned over to whisper into Thor’s ear. 

Loki began slowly walking towards what was left of the crowd, and since I had been watching the individuals on the stage, I saw the moment when the decision was made among them. They acted so quickly once again it was difficult to focus on exactly what was happening. I saw Tony fly over and attract the attention of Loki. Once Loki looked up at the flying man, Natasha jumped off of the stage, and swept his legs causing him to loose balance and topple backwards. I am not sure why I did it, but I stood up and ran over to Loki in an attempt to save him from falling over. However my instinct was probably not the best idea when I think back to it. For at the time I reached Loki, Thor was also there to restrain him. 

The next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground, Loki was in handcuffs and a muzzle I recognized from the headline pictures when he was in New York City. I thought I saw him look at me with a combination of both anger, and extreme betrayal. I instantly felt really guilty. 

He was back on the stage area with Thor, and they were joined by Clint, and I thought I saw Bruce in the background as well. I attempted to sit up but I didn’t lift my head even an inch before it began throbbing with the most intense pain I had ever felt in my entire life. I also registered that my left leg was also in extreme pain. 

“Wha..” I looked left and saw Natasha hovering over me with concern. I felt my vision blurring, and a tear running down my cheek for some reason. 

“Just lay still,” she said after seeing the confusion in my face. “Don’t try to move. We will get you out of here and fixed up don’t you worry. Just relax.” She wiped the tear off my cheek. 

“What happened?” I answered, my voice barely above a whisper. 

“Shhh. Don’t try to talk right now.” She stood up and looked towards the huddle of heroes that had formed on the stage around the captured Loki. I saw what looked to be the sky opening, and a light shinning down, and then I remembered Natasha yelling something in that direction. Then I blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. I am evil. You shall be left in agony until after my last final :D


	36. Epilogue

I woke in a start, as I had been dreaming about the events that had previously taken place. Upon opening my eyes, was immediately blinded by the amount of white that surrounded me. For a second, I thought I had died and this was heaven, but I heard the distinct sound of a heart monitor beeping faintly close by. I shut my eyes and concentrated to see if I could hear other sounds. I heard conversations taking place in what I was assuming was the outside hallway, and I heard a few phones ringing faintly. Then there was the sound of metal carts being rolled down the hallway.   
That sealed it. I was in a hospital. I slowly opened my eyes again, and focused them on what I could see. I was beginning to see some details beyond all the blurriness, until I attempted to move my head which brought on a sudden wave of excruciating pain. I cried out and I heard the heart monitor rise in tempo.  
The door to the room was opened, and a young, dark haired nurse rushed in to check on me.   
“Oh good you’re awake. The doctor will be in shortly to check in on you. In the meantime, there are a few people outside that would like to talk with you. As you probably realized, it won’t be wise to move your head, or really any additional limbs at this point. If you need me, just push the button located next to your right hand.”  
With that she briskly left, but kept the door ajar. I couldn’t see who was waiting with the angle, but I didn’t have to be patient for long.  
Nick Fury, Tony, and Natasha all walked in a single file pattern through the door, and huddled around my bed.   
“Hi everyone,” I said attempting to sound strong despite my appearances, but it came out more of a croaking noise rather than words.  
“Don’t talk right now.” Director Fury’s gruff voice reached my ears. “I am here to fill you in on what happened, and exactly what will happen to you over the next several months.”  
“Excuse, my pirate friend over here and his gruff nature. We had originally agreed that I would head up this part of the discussion.” Tony butted in earning a glare from Fury.   
“No, I believe we agreed that I would be the best candidate for this mission as I can relate better to the female mindset.” Natasha interjected, her hands moving to her hips and engaging Tony in a bit of a stare down.   
“Please don’t fight.” I croaked. “Natasha,what is going on here.”  
Natasha smirked at Tony as she walked to the left side of my bed, pulling a nearby chair close for her to take a seat.   
“This maybe difficult for you to take in right now, but I am going to be blunt with you as I am sure you will appreciate that more than padding the truth.”  
I gave her a small nod of approval and she continued.   
“During the scuffle that occurred before, it seems you were knocked over and a bit trampled. Not to point any accusing fingers, but Bruce was in half Hulk mode and was found in close proximity to you. We are still looking into that. Nevertheless, you encountered a concussion, you have a few staples at the back of your head, and your leg is cleanly broken on your right shin bone and fractured in others. Besides that you are simply bruised and scrapped up a bit.”   
The room went silent as she stopped talking. I glanced down to my leg as best as I could, and discovered it was indeed in a full cast. I took a moment to think over what she had said. One glance told me the boys were trying to figure out how I was going to react to the new information.   
After a few moments, I looked back at Natasha and then to Tony and Director Fury.   
“Thank you all for letting me know. Director Fury, sir. You mentioned you had some further information for me regarding my next few months?”  
He cleared his throat and stepped closer to the bed. “Yes indeed. Once you have been declared fit to leave the hospital, SHIELD would like you to fill us in on some details that are still a bit fuzzy on our end regarding your time with Mr. Laufeyson. And after that is all through, if you would consider it, I would like to offer you a job as a full time agent of our organization. You could take any position you wanted, but we would love for your to be one of our undercover operatives.”  
The nurse who had visited me before, stuck her head in and looked directly at Fury apparently reminding him of some previously agreed upon terms.   
“It seems that is our cue to leave. Don’t feel as if you have to make any decisions now. First priority is getting you back on your feet.” Fury continued his voice surprisingly soft toned. “And yes, the doctors assured me once your leg heals, you will be as good as new again.”  
I smiled at him as he winked with his good eye. Natasha gave me a little wave as she followed Fury towards the door. Tony lingered behind a bit and pulled out a bag of what looked to be dried blueberries from his suit jacket and put them on the small table next to me as if offering a peace treaty, gave me a small smirk and also left the room. 

I was alone with my thoughts for the first time since being conscious in the hospital room environment. I thought about the state of my broken body, the look of betrayal on Loki’s face when I last saw him, and also wondered what was happening to him now that he was back in Asguard.   
Amidst my thoughts I must have fallen asleep, for when I woke the room was dark like the night. I shifted my weight around the best I could trying to get comfortable without triggering more pain. I could tell the pain medication they had given me was starting to wear off a bit as even the slightest movements were making my head feel ready to split open.  
I twisted my right wrist enough to reach the button for the morphine drip that they had provided me earlier so I could have a bit of control over the intensity of the medication. It was definitely much appreciated. I closed my eyes and attempted to relax again to hopefully go back to sleep as I noticed the clock on the wall said it was only about 2:30 am.   
Thats’ when I heard a noise coming from the far corner of the room. I couldn’t tell you what it sounded like for it was nothing like I had heard before. And I was in a bit of a drugged state and my mind was not fully clear. I opened my eyes to see what made the mystery noise and was startled to see a site I never thought I would ever see again. It was Loki, standing there in his black suit and gazing over at me from the far corner of the room. He slowly walked over to the left side of the bed and looked right at me with a soft expression. He reached his hand out and brushed his fingertips along my jawline. 

“Hello Irene.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is it dear friends. I hope you all loved it! I know I had way too much fun writing it.   
> I would love to hear what you think of the whole thing, or just this chapter, or whatever you feel like talking about. :D


End file.
